Gray: Scorpius Malfoy and the Son of Voldemort
by Fiery Gray
Summary: UNDER EDITING! (V): The Shadow War rages and everyone is after the son of Voldemort. While governments juggle keeping things secret from muggles and planning defenses, Scorpius is juggling OWLs, life, a potential serial killer and his own urge to fight. The war cuts ever closer to home for Scorpius and friends, while the answers they seek may not be the answers they want. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1: On The Edge

**_Parts (1-4)  
_**

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**V  
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**Chapter 1  
**

On The Edge

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**_Disclaimer: _**_I do not own Harry Potter, it belongs to JK Rowling_

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**_Author's Note:_**

_This is Book V in my Gray series, if you have not read the others in the series then go back and read Book I _**Gray: Scorpius Malfoy and the Blood Runes, **_Book II _**Gray: Scorpius Malfoy and the Call of the Dark,**_ Book III _**Gray: Scorpius Malfoy and the Werewolf Army**_ and Book IV _**Gray: Scorpius Malfoy and the Scepter of Night**_ first because otherwise this won't make much sense_

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**Part 1: **Ashes of Athens

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The sky was dark but it wasn't night, there was light but it wasn't from the streetlamps. There were no streetlamps anymore, there were no streets in fact. They'd been glazed over with lava that had now hardened to dense, dark, lumpy rock. Streetlamps and anything else on the road or path had been drowned in the torrent of liquid fire, which also applied to anyone who had been unfortunate enough to be out when the attack had happened. It would be impossible to tell how many were dead and who the victims had even been, their remains were lost amongst the rock beneath her feet. Muggles had been hit worse than the magical community, anyone in the Ministry at the time - which had been a decent amount of people considering it had been a work day - had been alright due to it being underground and those in buildings could've used magic to protect themselves from being too badly hurt when they came crashing back down. Not that they were completely without injury and she had no doubts there had been some magical casualties too just like there were muggle survivors.

The buildings didn't even look like buildings anymore, the windows were blown out and the walls were cracked. They all stood crooked from being slammed back down onto the uneven frozen lava, if they were even still standing. Some had been too unbalanced and fallen, some lay there unrecognizably on their sides while others were leaning against its neighbor for support or to bring them both down like dominoes. Some were ablaze in places and some had massive chunks torn out by the dragons, like gaping wounds oozing rubble for blood. The dragons were still there, circling, clawing at or breathing fire on buildings at random although not attacking anyone directly. The fires were what were casting a bloody light on the survivors scrabbling through the streets. There were still a lot less people in Athens then there had been yesterday.

Leila Malika Akram trudged through the ruined city she'd loved, carrying her and Roman's son in her arms. Cyrus was five and a half now, he was blond like her but his skin was fairer like his father's and she thought he took after him more in terms of looks too. His eyes were like neither of theirs though, the iris, pupil and sclera were the same cloudy color. Cyrus had been blind since birth and for once in his life, she was glad. She'd been at work in the Ministry when the attack happened and knew for a fact that the Floo Network - at least in Athens - was down, that Portkeys were also not working and that anti-apparation spells were in effect. The Minister had surrendered to the Shadows - or Soul Eaters as they were also known - and they had poured in, teleporting using the Specters and taking over. They'd been allowed to go out and find their families, anyone who hadn't left had been herded outside anyway as the cloaked figures emblazoned with the blue Shadows' symbol were gathering the survivors. The same symbol hung in the sky, a giant skeletal snake of luminous azure light. Its body was twisted in a random pattern that constantly moved while in the center rested its head, a forked tongue flicking out.

They were killing anyone who offered resistance without hesitation so people had mostly stopped resisting by now, mostly people were complying and just crying or praying. The snatches of conversation she heard were mostly muggles trying to wrap their heads around magic being real or attempts at alternate explanations such as advanced technology, some massive publicity stunt or even a dream while others were severely regretting choosing Athens as a vacation spot. The initial panic, shock and terror had worn off now, people were still scared but capable of thinking as they dragged their tired, injured bodies through what had once been called streets. She had a plan to get her and Cyrus out though thanks to an artifact she had back at their apartment, Cyrus had been with a sitter not at home but they were on their way home now that she'd picked him up. Assuming she could find the building through the fallen rubble at least, the sound of screaming wasn't a good sign. She froze abruptly as one of the Shadows held up a hand and his wand to stop her.

"Muggles not magic go this way away," the man said to her in broken Greek.

"Excuse me?" Leila offered in English, the language she'd heard them talk to each other in and the man looked relieved.

"Muggles in this area are being led this way, witches and wizards are to gather at the Pantheon soon," the man explained to her in fluent English, clearly his native tongue.

"Why are muggle people going this way and not magical people?" Cyrus asked with genuine curiosity before she could shush him, she almost regretted making sure he knew English.

"Because those without magic are lesser beings, muggles will be slaves to those of us who are magical in the New World."

"How are things going to work in this New World?" Leila found herself asking with morbid curiosity before she could stop herself, the man was being rather amicable considering. She also wondered how he'd known she was magical, she wasn't carrying her wand in hand, "I just want to know what's to become of us."

"It's simple really, everyone magical - of any blood status too - of age will be given a choice to either comply with the New World or die while muggles become our slaves. Those underage will be seper- I- I mean- It'll be explained at the Pantheon soon enough, I'd recommend you go there. And don't resist, if you're not with us then there's no place for you in this new world. It would be a shame for someone as pretty as you to have no place here," the man told her and paused briefly to grab a teen turning down a side street, hauling her violently back and practically throwing her into the direction Leila had been trying to go. He jabbed his wand that way and the girl scrambled away in that direction with wide eyed terror before the man turned back to them and continued conversationally, "You'll still hear the message if you're not there but the Master's going to raise all the dead for the army of Inferi so I'd rather be at the Pantheon with a bunch of wizards then a bunch of living corpses if I were you."

"I will shortly, I'm just trying to find my sister. Her apartment's this way," Leila invented and feigned concern for her imaginary sister.

"She a witch too?"

"Yes," Leila snapped somewhat testily and the man gave her the ghost of a lopsided grin, "We're purebloods."

"The more the merrier then, eh? Go on, just head over to the Pantheon when you get her," the man offered and gestured for her to go on, she shifted Cyrus' position somewhat before carrying on as she didn't like the sound of what he'd started to say about those underage, "Assuming she's still alive that is."

"Mama, you don't have a sister," Cyrus pointed out after a few minutes as he switched back to Greek.

"He doesn't know that though, does he?" Leila said as she also switched to Greek to lessen the chance of Shadows understanding them.

"It's just a lie to get past him," Cyrus realized and in any other situation she'd have smiled at her son's intelligence or at least if she hadn't heard a scream, she tried to sound calm and optimistic for his sake regardless though.

"It's okay to lie to bad people taking over the world but I don't want to see you making a habit out of it, alright?"

"Alright," Cyrus nodded but still looked worried as he lowered his voice, "Mama, I hear screaming."

"So do I, I don't know where it's coming from though so try not worry about it."

"Is it coming from the living corpses that man said about?" Cyrus asked fearfully and she held him a little tighter to comfort him.

"I don't know," Leila admitted, she tried to be as honest with him as possible and she really didn't have an answer as she saw neither Inferi nor screaming people.

The screaming grew louder as the continued on before they came to an open area, Leila realized it had been the park near their apartment. The once beautiful landscape filled with laughing children was now a wasteland, like the streets it was now just black, frozen lava except filled with screaming muggles. The Shadows seemed to be splitting them into adults and children, crying children were torn from sobbing adults and she'd guess the bodies littering the ground was probably the reason there wasn't more resistance. It was what they were doing to them after separating them that was causing the screaming, with a flick of a wand they were branding huge crosses across the right cheeks of adults and children alike.

"What's happening to them? Are they dying?" Cyrus whispered quietly, his dusty face white with fear.

"No, they're just marking them as muggles," Leila explained as she started walking again, not wanting to be there and wanting her son to be there even less, "It hurts them to be marked."

"I'm scared, Mama," Cyrus whimpered and Leila sighed before kissing his head gently.

"We all are, sweetheart, we all are. But we'll be okay as long as we're together, I have a way to get us safely away from here."

Cyrus nodded weakly but said nothing as he buried his head back in the crook of her neck, Leila tried to pick up the pace to leave the poor muggles behind. There was nothing she could do for them, she was grossly outnumbered and trapped in any situation with magical transportation down. She didn't think the dragons would let anyone leave the city even if an attempt on foot or even by broom was made, she certainly wasn't going to risk Cyrus in a duel. Not unless she really had to anyway but she was hoping it didn't come to that. She actually had a theory that could help in general though, she'd studied Herpo's Scepter as part of her job after all. That wouldn't be of any help to anyone unless she got out of Athens though so it wasn't of immediate help, it might not be of any help at all really. It depended entirely on the Shadow Master's brother, assuming her theory about a brother was correct at all.

She let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding when she saw her apartment building was still standing, it was slouching and the white brick was all cracked like the others but it _was_ standing. She cautiously approached, the door had been thrown off its hinges so they slipped inside and headed up the stairs. The place creaked apprehensively with every step, maybe it was just her imagination but the walls also seemed to sway slightly. She drew her wand just in case the building started to give way or if debris started falling or whatever else could go wrong with an unstable structure. It was strange to think it had been normal when she'd left that morning, it was a wreck now with the walls bend and fractured, shards of glass littered the floor from smattered windows destroyed when it was dropped. And bodies. The lava had washed the initial victims away, the only dead were those resisting and the Killing Curse left no mark but here she saw mangled corpses of her muggle neighbors. They'd been knocked around like ragdolls as they tried to escape and she was sure there were more inside the apartments, most of the bodies were part in the broken doors or visible through the doorway. Limbs were twisted, bones jutted out of torn flesh, faces were mashed into a bloody mesh and some poor bastards were still alive as she heard occasional rattling rasps or guttural pleas for help coming from somewhere. She couldn't do anything for them though, she knew nothing about healing even if she dared risk time searching for survivors. She clutched her wand and her son closer, feeling guiltily grateful the babysitter had had the magical aptitude to spare him from that fate.

Leila gave a sigh of relief when she reached her own apartment, the door was hanging off its hinges like most of them as it had been knocked out of place. She went inside before finally putting Cyrus down, her apartment was no better off than the rest of Athens. Everything not bolted down was strewn across the floor, anything breakable was broken and buried in the graveyard of fragments across the floor, even furniture was smashed and upturned. It was somewhat painful to see her life in terms of material possessions turned upside down quite literally, she and Cyrus were still alive though and she'd rather have her son over even the most priceless artifacts any day. Thankfully the thing she was looking for was metallic and should be intact, it was also quite well put away.

"Just stay there, Cyrus," Leila told her son, afraid of him falling as she went further inside to search for the artifact, things crunching underfoot as she walked, "There's broken things all over the floor so be careful."

"Okay, Mama," Cyrus agreed sounding somewhat nervous but she'd rather he stay there than risk tripping and becoming impaled on a former table leg or slicing himself on the jagged things, she really was clueless on healing magic and his inability to see made uneven terrain especially treacherous for him, "Please be quick."

Leila hurried into her own room, which was just as devastated and she saw her bed was now propped up against the wall almost vertically but she headed for her closet. The damage was marginally better there, the enclosed area meant there wasn't so much space for things to be jostled but everything had still been spewed out of the boxes and the highest had tumbled, all of it was draped in clothes fallen from their hangers. She flicked her wand and the clothes went flying along with all the boxes on top of the one she wanted, she was glad she'd put it at the bottom now as everything was still inside even if it was in disarray. She scoured through it and felt her heart clench as painful memories resurfaced, a bracelet that had belonged to her dead mother, the engagement ring Roman had given her, the ancient healing ankh her father had acquired for her that she and Roman had solved the riddle for, photographs too of her family and Roman. Roman Rivers had been her fiancé until he'd left her pregnant with Cyrus, she'd kept the photographs in case Cyrus ever wondered about his father - before he'd been born blind rendering them useless of course - but had shoved them into the box out of the way because it depressed her to see them. She'd never gotten around to throwing them out.

She found herself picking up the nearest one sadly, Roman's muddy brown eyes gazed up at her with a smile while his arm rested around her in the picture. She'd been so happy. She'd never thought he'd just abandon her and their unborn baby, he'd even gone as far as to pretend he didn't know her when they'd met again through work - they both studied magical artifacts for a living - which made it hurt even more. She pocketed the picture of them with a sigh despite everything, along with the nearest one of her dead parents and the ankh because that had a practical use before continuing digging through the box until she finally reached what she was looking for. It was another Ancient Egyptian artifact in fact, two long solid gold bracelets engraved with hieroglyphs that were something akin to a precursor to Portkeys. They'd been used mostly by spies or sometimes travelers to get out of a tight situation if the need arose as they were limited to one direction of travel, they'd only transport the person back to one location which was the location of the bracelet's creation. Using them required tracing the hieroglyphs in the correct order and direction after which it took a minute to warm up, it also needed a cooling off period after before it recharged to be used again. Not exactly like a Portkey but it was in the same family of magic, she still very much doubted whatever anti-Portkey magic was in effect would stop the millennia old magic from working.

"Mama!" Cyrus called abruptly, "I think something is happening!"

Leila scooped up the bracelets, slipping one onto each wrist as she went back out to where Cyrus was waiting. He'd turned to face the front door, she realized she could hear a thrum that grew in volume the closer she got to the door. The same kind of thrum she'd heard when the Scepter was in use. She peered out through the broken door to see wisps of black smoke, seeping through the corridor like a mist and into some of the other apartments. There was an abrupt thunderous crack, flashes of violet shot out like lightning from the mist to zap the dead. Leila jumped back in shock and clasped a hand over her mouth, she could make an educated guess what was happening. There was a chorus of groans and she watched in horror as the dead began to pull their mangled bodies to their feet, she slammed the door closed as best she could and pulled Cyrus away from the door while her heart beat frantically in fear. She didn't turn her back on the door, afraid of them coming in.

"What's happening, Mama?" Cyrus asked, echoing her fear as awkward footsteps started outside with accompanying shadows going by beneath the door as Inferi moved by.

"You don't want to know," Leila assured him as she started tracing her wand over the hieroglyphs, they were lighting up blue where her wand touched which she took as a good sign as it didn't light up at all if it wasn't working.

"It's the living corpses the man said about, isn't it?" Cyrus wondered as she finished tracing the symbols, they were now turning to purple. Yellow was the color it was when in motion though, it was still warming up. She hoped it didn't take long.

"Yes," Leila confirmed quietly as she lifted him back up into her arms, she kissed his head gently and glanced at the now red symbols, "But we'll be away from here safe and sound in just a minute, you'll see."

"And here I thought you were looking for your sister," a familiar voice taunted, she noticed the symbols shift to orange.

Leila spun in shock to see the Shadow from before behind her, she went to raise her wand but was distracted by a bang from behind her as the front door burst open. She turned instinctively back to the sound and saw the Inferi limping in, the distraction cost her as a spell struck them. Cyrus was wrenched from her grip as they were both thrown violently away from each other, she heard Cyrus cry out as she collided painfully with the wall. She got her bearings in time to see the Inferi grabbing her son with their broken bony fingers, she raised her wand to defend him and saw the symbols now yellow to her absolute horror.

"NO!" Leila screamed as she felt herself ripped from reality.

It was as if hooks had dug into her wrists and were pulling her forcefully through a whirl of incomprehensible colors, faster and faster... And then it was over. She was just slumped against a different wall. The chaos was replaced by silence, the ruined apartment replaced by a room in an Ancient Magical Egyptian city she'd studied with Roman. But she was alone. She hadn't been in contact with Cyrus when it activated. Her son was left there. And it was only a one way trip. The emptiness gnawed at her, this was where Cyrus should be. She wasn't usually much of a crier but the liquid was bubbling from her eyes before she could stop herself, she buried her face in her hands as silent shuddering sobs shook her.

She'd lost her son, her precious little son. She had no idea what they would do to him, being a pureblood wizard - he had accidentally used magic before, he was certainly a wizard - was probably something in his favor but being deaf was probably not. Would they kill him? Had they already killed him? Would they enslave him with the muggles? Would they do... whatever else they planned to do wizard children? She had to get him back, she had to save him. She wasn't someone who sat around crying, she was a doer. Her stepmother had thought her mad for choosing a career and making her own way in life instead of living off the family wealth but she had done it because she was a doer. She stood up on shaky legs and wiped her eyes, trying to think through her loss because crying wasn't going to help him. She needed to be strong, she had to be strong. But how to get him back? Returning to Athens would be just as hard as getting out and they may not even keep Cyrus in Athens - assuming he was alive, he was going to be alive until she saw a body - at all.

Even if she could get back in, no one could compete with the Shadow Master. He had dragons, Specters, soldiers, Inferi, slaves, maybe even werewolves if that army was still a thing. It was all too much for one person to take on and the wizarding world wasn't going to do anything, countries would be too busy focusing on preparing to help themselves and keeping it from the muggles instead of trying to help Greece. No, she was on her own and she couldn't get through an army to save her son. But that didn't mean it was hopeless, dark forces were - rather appropriately - like snakes with the leader being the head and their followers being the body. Cut off the head and the snake would die, someone need only look at Voldemort or Grindelwald as examples as their followers didn't know what to do without a leader. She needed to cut off the head to get to her son. The Shadow Master was a force to be reckoned with though, especially with Herpo's Scepter. It allowed the user to channel magic stolen from others, contained in the orb at the top. The Shadow Master showed no sign of struggling to control so much magic at once or that the Scepter didn't approve.

Which brought her back to her theory, she'd read the Shadow Master had used Polyjuice - or possibly was just a metamorphmagus - to disguise themselves as someone with an iron clad alibi at his last public appearance when he'd stolen the Scepter initially. Scepters also got attached to a wizard and - often - to the bloodline, the Scepter had been Herpo's so it made sense the Shadow Master was descended from him as the Scepter seemed to like him. Slytherin was descended from Herpo, Voldemort was descended from Slytherin and the Shadow Master was the son of Voldemort. The problem with that though was that using Polyjuice messed with your DNA, the Scepter should reject the Shadow Master if he was pretending to be someone not sharing the correct bloodline. In contrast, it also would reject him if he wasn't descended from Herpo and simply pretending to be someone who was of the correct bloodline. So for the Scepter to work for him while Polyjuiced, he'd have to be a descendant of Herpo _and_ have Polyjuiced into a separate descendant of Herpo. Meaning Voldemort had two - or more - children and the Scepter would respond just as much if not more to the other son, the other son could take the Scepter from the Shadow Master and take away his power. If her theory was correct. She just needed to find out who the other son of Voldemort was, find the other son of Voldemort, convince him to turn on his brother and then hope he could compete with the Shadow Master. It also sounded rather impossible but she didn't have a lot of options.

Leila was jolted from her thoughts by the sounds of voices, she quickly cast a Disillusionment Charm on herself in fear the Shadows had found her somehow. She hugged the wall and kept her wand in hand, she couldn't help Cyrus if she was captured or killed after all. It was just a group of tourists though, Leila slipped past them and threw the tour guide a disgusted look as she pronounced Djehutimose's - the bracelet's inventor - name wrong. How difficult was it to pronounce Djehutimose really? Idiot. She almost froze mid-thought as she saw who was at the back of the tour group, a teenage boy with a Tiwaz rune scarred into his left palm. She'd read about it a few years back, it wasn't every day you heard about Blood Runes being used. She studied artifacts for a living so it was particularly interesting to her.

The rune looked like an arrow except his had a fainter diagonal scar going across it, that wrist also bore three more scars wrapping around it. The central one was a continuous line but the other two were disjointed, he was wearing some kind of threaded friendship bracelet that sort of covered it. His right hand and wrist were worse off, a disgusting scarred mass of lumps and bumps a shade paler then his flesh. She'd guess he'd been burned. He had an odd choice of jewelry too, a silver Thestral ring and what looked like a golden wedding band. He was a slender boy and pale despite the hot - as an Egyptian national she could attest to that- Egyptian weather, he had rather sharp, pointed features with a small scar on his chin. His eyes were a cold gray and his hair was a white-blond, it looked in need of a cut as his bangs were almost covering his eyes. The boy was Scorpius Malfoy. At eleven he'd managed to save his school from the Shadows using the Blood Runes, she also thought he might've been one of the students caught up in the attempt on the Scepter. He might know something, it was as good a place to start as any. Leila moved away from the group before removing the Disillusionment Charm from herself , she pocketed her wand and went back over to mingle with them.

"Hi," Leila greeted him in English, he blinked in surprise and gave her an odd look, "I know you, you're Scorpius Malfoy. I've read about you in the papers."

"You shouldn't believe everything you read in those things, the Ministry is not trustworthy," Scorpius told her dryly, she decided to just cut to the chase.

"I was wondering if you could tell me about the Shadows, maybe? I'm curious about what happened with the Scepter. You were involved, weren't you?"

"I'd rather not talk about it," Scorpius said firmly.

"Please, I need to know what happened," Leila pleaded but Scorpius' next word was a harsh denial.

"No."

"Is this woman bothering you, Scorpius?" the man beside Scorpius asked, he too had gray eyes and pale pointed features even sharper than Scorpius' which were exemplified further by his receding white-blind hair-line. She'd guess he was the boy's father.

"Yes."

"No," Leila commented at the same time as Scorpius, the elder man's eyes narrowed darkly.

"Leave my son alone," the man told her coldly as he put an arm around Scorpius and moved them further away from her, Leila was desperate though and she wasn't giving up that easily. She grabbed Scorpius' wrist and yanked him back.

"Look, the Shadows just attacked Athens. I barely got alive and I _need_ to know what you know about the Scepter," Leila insisted urgently, capturing his eyes in the hopes he'd see her sincerity, "It's important, Scorpius."

"Look lady-"

"SHADOWS!" a shrill voice screamed, shattering any chance of further conversation.

Leila spun to see cloaked figures emblazoned with the skeletal snake symbol, a jet of green was already flying towards her. She threw herself out of the way, inadvertently taking Scorpius with her and it instead struck an elderly Asian man who fell lifelessly to the ground. She drew her wand again but Scorpius was surprisingly faster.

"_Acuta!_" Scorpius cried and slashed out with his wand, one of the closest assailants screamed as the spell sliced through his face and clutched at the bloody wound.

"What do you want?!" one of the tourists yelled in panic at the Shadows.

"Me," Leila realized unhappily as she noticed their wand direction and disapparated before anyone else could get hurt.

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**Part 2: **Pretending

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The son of Voldemort tossed and turned in his bed, waves of blue light gently rippling out across the room as sleep refused to come to him. Calderon sighed and rolled over away from the wall, reaching out to grab the pocket watch resting on the bedside table. Ticcy had given it to him as a gift for his thirty-ninth birthday in June, it was silver and engraved with a dragon. Calderon loved dragons. He flipped it open and used the blue lights to identify the time as quarter past four, he figured he might as well get up and get started on work. Not that there was really any work, it was still being debated whether Silvanus Elwood was to stay on as Headmaster or not so he technically had no boss to tell him what to do. It was actually pretty bad as things needed to be done, it was August already and the Hogwarts letters - except for muggle-born First Years who had their letters delivered in person - had yet to be released, the staff hadn't even been confirmed they were staying on or asked for booklists, OWL and NEWT results hadn't been sent out either and supplies - including food for the start of term - hadn't been ordered. He'd done as much as he could but he hadn't the authority to do things as he was just an assistant, not that the Ministry really cared.

Calderon got up, washed and dressed but couldn't resist pausing to look at the articles he'd gathered on the son of Voldemort and the recent attack on Athens. He didn't know why, he already knew them by heart by now and it just made him sad to read anyway. There was so much hate, so much focus on how evil the son must be _just _because of his parentage. They actually made it sound like being related to Voldemort was a worse crime then all the things that the Shadow Master had actually done. Killing, kidnapping, torture, theft, destruction but hey, being the son of such a notorious Dark Lord - which you had no control over - is where you crossed the line. It was his sister they were actually looking for, his twin was the Shadow Master and even then they were wrong. Sal wasn't heartless, she was certainly guilty of a lot of things but she wasn't incapable of empathy or emotion like they thought and neither was he. People still thought that though, even Scor last year had been adamant that any child of Voldemort must be just as bad. The world was guiltier then their father for making them what they were in his opinion though, they hadn't been born able to do powerful wandless magic and wanting to do bad things. The world had made them who they were a lot more than a man they'd met once and the world shunning them really wouldn't make Sal see the good in it. In the back of his mind he'd hoped everyone had been wrong, he'd hoped the world could accept Voldemort's children. He was stupid.

It was only a matter of time now before the world found out who he was, he wasn't even sure who he was anymore. He'd been Tom - or Tommy as he preferred - Riddle for half his life and Marius Calderon for half his life, he felt like he was neither now or both. After years of embracing his alias and turning away from his lineage, he found himself oddly sick of it. He didn't want to hide who he was anymore, he wanted to scream at the world that he _was_ the son of Voldemort but it didn't make him evil dammit! Because it didn't. He didn't want to follow in his father's or sister's footsteps, he didn't want to destroy the world, he didn't want to hurt anyone at all, he was even a vegetarian because he couldn't bring himself to eat living things. It wasn't fair he was pre-judged to be evil, why should he have to pretend to be someone else? It wasn't fair. He knew it was insane to feel like that, revealing his identity would damn him to imprisonment and everyone he knew would turn on him. Although, sanity wasn't his strongest point admittedly. It didn't help Sal had branded his chest with that creepy symbol or that he was keeping information about her secret. But as much as he really did want her to stop what she was doing, he couldn't bring himself to turn on her. She was his sister after all, his twin sister and his instinct was still to protect her despite the things she'd done. The awful, awful things she'd done. Maybe he was evil for that but he still loved his sister.

He tore himself away from the articles and headed out into the deserted castle, conjuring cleaning supplies and magically making mops start on the Grand Staircase. He technically also had no obligation to clean without a clear boss but he still did, he wasn't going to let the castle he loved become a filthy wreck. Normally he liked to listen to music while he worked but due to the early hour, he was afraid of waking Ticcy and his kids. They were the only living ones in the castle unless you counted Ruby in his hut outside, staff tended to go home until nearer the end of August. He settled for humming songs and amused himself making patterns of lights that he thought suited the music as well as moving the mops magically in time with it, it took his mind off things although relaxing made his tiredness resurface. Maybe he should've tried harder to sleep. He stopped abruptly when he reached the Third Floor and noticed a light coming from the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom that wasn't by him, meaning at least one of the Ashains was awake. He abandoned his cleaning to investigate, poking his head in to see Ticcy sitting at his desk with a bottle of Firewhiskey. Ticcy – or Atticus Ashain – was the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, he had extremely dark auburn hair – as Ashains tended to – with a closely shaven beard.

"Happy Birthday, Ticcy," Calderon offered cheerfully as he went over to him, "If I'd known you'd be up then I would've brought your gift."

"Up? I haven't even gotten to bed yet," Ticcy said with a slight slur to his words, the bottle was mostly gone, "Is it past midnight already?"

"We passed midnight a while ago, we're nearing dawn now," Calderon pointed out and Ticcy grunted unhappily before downing what remained in the glass, grimacing as if it tasted terrible before pouring some more. Calderon cocked his head to one side curiously, wondering why someone would drink something they didn't like the taste of and why Ticcy would be drinking in the first place.

"Y'know, the problem with growing up rich is that you get used to finer stuff and this poor stuff tastes like crap."

"I take it things didn't go well with Skye?" Calderon guessed and Ticcy sighed sadly as he nodded, Calderon flicked his wrist and the nearest chair hovered over for him to sit opposite.

"She still doesn't want the kids to go back and live with her, although I thought I was getting somewhere with convincing her to at least have contact with them. Before her boyfriend came to see who she was talking to anyway," Ticcy explained as his expression darkened before he took another gulp from his glass, his words became more slurred as he continued bitterly, "Did you know she has a boyfriend now? A _boyfriend_. Carl from her work Carl. I don't know if that's Carl with a C or Karl with a K. What kind of stupid name is Carl anyway? It sounds like how a drunk person would say car."

"Yeah it does," Calderon commented, he repressed the urge to giggle but yellow lights flickering at his mild amusement at how similar Ticcy saying 'car' was to how he said 'Carl' while he was drunk.

"Y'know we should have been celebrating our tenth wedding anniversary this year? But instead we got divorced and she has a boyfriend," Ticcy continued unhappily and obliviously to his amusement, "I still keep think of her as my wife and she has a boyfriend. I've not looked at another woman and she has a boyfriend. I've not thought of even dating and she has a boyfriend. I still love her and she has a boyfriend. Stupid Carl from her work Carl."

"How much have you had to drink?"

"I don't know, I'm not using a measuring cup," Ticcy snapped as he took another gulp, "But y'know, it's not even the worst thing that she has a boyfriend. Do you know she has a boyfriend? Carl from-"

"You've covered that already!" Calderon protested, talking to drunk people was hard, "Focus, Ticcy."

"The worst part is that I thought that even if she did react badly to magic that it wouldn't affect the kids. I mean if you're upset with your partner, your reaction isn't to sever all ties to your children. At least it's not _my_ reaction, I'd think it would be everyone's reaction. At least most people's. At least Skye's. But no," Ticcy rambled with slightly more focus, "Kids need their mothers, fathers are... fathers are useless. Mothers are the important ones, fathers are just an unnecessary spare part in any family."

"I think a lot of families would disagree with you there."

"Well those families are idiots," Ticcy insisted as he downed the last of his glass, "Read any muggle book about babies or children, mothers are all that matter and fathers are an afterthought. Fathers are bad as single parents, fathers just suck."

"I've delivered a lot of Hogwarts letters to muggle families for the first time, there's been decent single fathers over the years. And for the record, I met my father only once and I still wound up a lunatic."

"Well me and Brutus had no mother for most or all of our lives and look how brilliantly we turned out!" Ticcy countered and threw out his arms, causing him to almost fall of his chair but Calderon magically righted him. Ticcy glanced briefly back to the steps that led to his quarters as if to make sure the noise hadn't woken his children before continued seriously, "I'm just scared that history's going to repeat itself, that Cassia and Antonius are going to wind up like me and Brutus. I'm scared that in forty years they'll be on opposite sides of the next wizarding war, one divorced living at Hogwarts and the other will be sitting watching the world burn."

"That's not going to happen," Calderon assured him gently but Ticcy didn't look convinced.

"Isn't it? It's already happening, Calderon. My Father was a single Father, I'm a single Father. I was tortured by Death Eaters when I was six, Cassia was tortured by Soul Eaters when she was seven and Antonius had the magic ripped out of his soul and put back when he was six," Ticcy explained anxiously, "Coincidess-Consudentally-Consuence- Coincidence? Right, coincidence. Coincidence?! I think not!"

"You're right! And they're magical and you're magical, they're going to go Hogwarts someday and you went to Hogwarts, they breathe air and you breathe air... It's eerie!" Calderon gasped sarcastically and Ticcy scowled at him irritably, "C'mon, Ticcy, you have to see you're overreacting slightly."

"They're not even ten yet and they've already been traumatized, they've already almost died on several occasions, they've already killed. I just... I just want them to be safe and happy, you know?" Ticcy sighed becoming solemn once more and began pouring himself some more Firewhiskey, filling the glass right up to the top to finish the bottle, "Not screwed up like me, it's the last thing I wanted. They've having a harder time of it then they let on and I just worry about them. And I worry even more that I'm raising them alone. I feel like my father, I can relate to what my kids are going through and I _still_ have no idea what to say to them or how to help them through it. I'm scared they're going to wind up suicidally depressed like me."

"I'm confused, which one is supposed to be Brutus and which one is supposed to be you in this analogy?" Calderon wondered in both confusion and genuine curiosity as Ticcy took another swig, he paused and an expression of absolute concentration came over him before he reverted back to scowling.

"I don't know, don't ask me to think. I think that I think I might be drunk, I think. How much have I had to drink?"

"If you don't remember then you've probably had enough."

"Probably, I just needed a drink after finding out that Skye has a boyfriend," Ticcy concurred as he eyed the glass with his dark chestnut eyes before looking back up to him with a sour expression, "Did you know that Skye has a boyfriend now? Carl from her work Carl."

"Yes, you may have mentioned that one or twice," Calderon pointed out as patiently as he could before deciding now was the appropriate time to pry the glass from his fingers, Ticcy allowed it and smiled.

"Try it, Calderon."

"I don't drink."

"You're thirty-nine, live a little," Ticcy chided him as he withdrew another glass from his desk before taking the filled one back, pouring half it into the empty one and starting to hand it back to Calderon. He paused and instead handed Calderon the fresh glass, "Y'can have the clean one."

"I really can't."

"You're well past the drinking age, Dementors aren't going to drag you to Azkaban for having a sip."

"That's not it! I... I... Y'know, I'm _me_," Calderon offered hesitantly, his lights flickering orange in panic, "I'm unstable, remember? If my magic is like this sober, think of what I could do drunk."

"Calderon, there's not enough in that glass to make you drunk."

"There's not?" Calderon wondered in surprise and Ticcy laughed.

"Of course not, you don't get drunk from a sip and you don't have to drink it all anyway," Ticcy insisted, "C'mon, Calderon, it's my forty-seventh birthday. Can't I just have a drink with my friend?"

"You consider me a friend?" Calderon repeated, feeling even more surprised and somewhat honored that someone would consider him a friend.

"Yes, I do," Ticcy confirmed with a nod, sounding serious, "In fact, you're one of the few people I trusting right now."

"You know I'm me, right?"

"No, I'm sorry. You're right, I've gotten you confused with the other Marius Calderon who lives here and works on the castle, has all these crazy lights and a weirdly high laugh," Ticcy offered sarcastically, "Yes! I know it's you, I'm not _that_ drunk."

"Okay," Calderon nodded with a faint smile at the thought of having a friend and Ticcy raised his glass, Calderon clinked his own glass against it before taking a sip. He choked and cringed at the awful taste, he felt as if he'd swallowed acid. No wonder Ticcy grimaced earlier, "It tastes like burning!"

"That's how you know its alcohol," Ticcy pointed out and took his own swig easily, "Y'get used to it."

"Why? Does it burn off your taste buds?" Calderon wondered, having the urge to wash his throat somehow. Ticcy seemed lost in thought for a moment, staring off into nothing before giving him a sad smile when he'd found the thought.

"Do you know the last time I was with Brutus before all the... the Eater stuff with Death, we were drinking?" Ticcy told him, his elder brother Brutus had been a Death Eater and now a Soul Eater while Ticcy had been an Auror. And Calderon had known his brother, Brutus had always been kind to him. In fact, he probably wouldn't have gotten Ticcy the job and ended up befriending him if not out of loyalty to Brutus' wish to protect his little brother. Ticcy wouldn't be his friend if he knew that or who Calderon really was either so were they friends at all really when it was all built on lies?

"I didn't know that," Calderon commented, realizing Ticcy had probably been waiting for a reply.

"The next day the Aurors came for him and I... I let him go. I let my brother go. And now Brutus is helping destroy the world," Ticcy continued unhappily, "Its torturous to know someone you love is out there doing such horrible things, it'd be better if he was like Grandfather. If he'd just always been flat out evil and I hated him, I don't care about that psychotic bastard being dead. I fucking hate him. But Brutus... Brutus has flaws sure but he's always decent at heart, y'know? He always looked out for me, even now. I try to hate him but I can't, I can't even regret letting him go or wish I had killed him after all. I still love my brother despite what he's done. Does that make a bad person?"

"I don't think so," Calderon said, biting the urge to say he knew _exactly_ what he meant.

"It's painful to remember the good times and then think about how we ended up. We were close once, y'know? We were close… Like my kids are now... You're lucky to not have that, Calderon. There's nothing worse than looking back on the times you were happy and knowing that they're all gone now, all the good is gone, long gone away," Ticcy sighed solemnly and Calderon downed the rest of his acid to stop himself from admitting he could relate, his lights flared green as he resisted the urge to gag at the burning. Firewhiskey was certainly an appropriate name, he would admit. He would also admit whoever had thought fire would make a good beverage was crazier than him, "Do you have any siblings?"

"A twin," Calderon blurted out before he could stop himself and digest the question, he heard rather then saw Ticcy's head snap to look at him in shock. He wanted to tell someone, he was fed of lying, "We... We used to be close to. But we chose different paths."

"Really?" Ticcy wondered and Calderon raised his head to see the surprise on the professor's face, his lights were swirling crazily in his panic as he tried to work up the courage to say yes if that was even a wise idea but he lost his nerve.

"No," Calderon scoffed and a pained laugh escaped him that he fought to stop it turning to tears, most people seemed to think his laugh was too pitched for some reason, "Could you imagine two of me running around?"

"I guess not," Ticcy agreed and managed a smile as he shook his head before downing the last of his own glass, not noticing the raining blue lights. Calderon didn't want to lie, he didn't want to lie anymore. He didn't want to pretend to be something he was not, "Hey Calderon, did you know that Skye has a boyfriend now? A _boyfriend_. Carl from work Carl."

* * *

"I just put Bertie down to bed but check on him because he keeps getting these horrible night terrors, Ivy and Flynn go up at half eight but Agnes can stay up until nine. Make sure they all brush their teeth, especially Ivy and Flynn," Crystal Sanford recounted and Jack nodded to indicate he comprehended her instruction, "Michael's in his room, he's already turned but just sit with him when he turns back in the morning to make sure he doesn't hurt himself like he keeps doing. He'll be pretty wiped, just make sure he gets into bed okay and I give him a glass of water in case he gets thirsty but can't get up. I'll be back soon after that, okay?"

"Okay," Jack Thorne nodded in understanding and Crystal gave him a grateful smile that lit up her face, she was still as beautiful as the day he'd met her.

She had dazzling hazel eyes set in soft, delicate features and framed by wavy locks of light auburn hair, flecked with blond, brown, red and - he was surprised to realize - gray. She was only thirty, then again their son wasn't fifteen yet and he was the same. He supposed it was stress as it wasn't like either of them had had easy lives, her clothes hid scars as did her tired eyes. It was for that reason that he couldn't bring himself to stay away even though he knew he should, that and he really wanted to be a better father to his son while he had the chance. He'd killed... he'd killed so many people a few months ago and it terrified him. He considered it justified but it still chilled him through his soul to think what he was capable of now he'd merged his soul to a creature of pure darkness, a Shadow of a Dementor or Specter as they were known. But he continued helping her whenever and however he could, it was the least he could do after everything she'd been through and how lousy a father he'd been. His son still hated him but Crystal was grateful, he also kept hoping focusing on them would make One - the Specter he shared his soul with – off his back. It didn't help hunger was starting to gnaw at him, Specters fed of pain and now so did Jack, minor things weren't helping much again.

"Thank you, Jack," Crystal offered with sincerity, "I can't tell you enough how much it means to me that you're willing to do this. I couldn't exactly tell my boss I had to stay home because it's a full moon and my eldest son is a werewolf, I couldn't exactly hire anyone for the same reason."

"It's no problem, I'm happy to help," Jack countered and returned her smile gently, "Michael's my son too and the little ones are good kids."

"Thanks," Crystal repeated as she moved past him, "Bye now, I really have to go. Bye kids!"

"Bye, have fun... taking care of those old people."

"How is it fun to take care of old people?" one of the little ones wondered as Crystal left, the little girl - Ivy - wrinkling her nose in disgust.

Crystal had had four children from her abusive - Jack had no regrets over killing him - ex-husband, two sons and two daughters . Ivy and Flynn were the middle two, aged six and five who were both fair-haired but had inherited their father's cold blue eyes and neither was magical. Agnes was the eldest of the little ones at eight, she had dark hair like her father as well as the blue eyes. Bertie was the youngest at three, he also had dark hair but was the only one to also have Crystal's hazel eyes. All four had scars from being attacked by a Fenrir Greyback over a year ago now but only Agnes and Bertie were magical. It made it harder to be around them as One wanted the magic from their souls, Bertie especially as he'd also witnessed Jack killing his grandmother. A side effect of merging his soul meant he could see the colors of others souls like an aura and since magic was part of the soul, he could also tell by looking who was magical as they had a pulsating orb of light around their heart.

"It's just one of those things people say," Jack brushed it off as he went over to the table, Ivy was drawing something that looked like a tree while Agnes and Flynn were on the couch watching TV, "Hey Ivy, what'cha drawing there?"

"A turkey," Ivy told him cheerfully and Jack was glad to have gone with asking instead of guessing because he would've been wrong.

"_I thought it looked like a sheep_," One spoke through Jack's voice before he could stop it, One was what the Specter he'd merged his soul with called itself. Jack _hated_ sharing his body with One, unfortunately he had no idea how to get rid of him.

"What kind of a sheep is brown?" Ivy complained with a scowl.

"_One that's been rolling in mud_," One commented icily and Ivy giggled in response while Jack regained control, "It's just because I'm looking at it upside down and it's not finished yet, from your angle it absolutely looks like an awesome turkey."

"Thanks, Jack."

"Jack!" Flynn called out desperately, "We was watching a movie but it stopped, help! I have to know what happens to Simba!"

"Its important news," Agnes pointed out as Jack turned around to look at the TV where, sure enough, a news report was airing.

_Can we kill the girl? Her pain will quench out thirst and her magic will make us stronger_, One pleaded with him inside her mind but he tried to ignore it, _It's been months, we need to kill. Kill the girl_

"Shut up, I'm trying to listen," Jack snapped at it but the kids mistook it as referring to them.

"No one's talking, Jack," Agnes told him but he ignored her for focus on the report.

"_Breaking News on the Civil War raging in Greece_," the news woman was saying in the businesslike way those people spoke, "_After an initial devastating attack on Athens on July 31st this year by the terrorist group known as the Soul Eaters, the Greek Capital was subjugated by the Soul Eaters and Greece was placed under Martial Law. All attempts to open a line of communication with the Soul Eaters has failed, all attempts by the Greek military to seize control back has failed while the further eight attacks by Soul Eaters on Greek cities have been a hundred percent effective. The President of Greece, Sotiris Megalos, was in Athens at the time of its invasion but mysteriously appeared hundreds of miles away in Thessaloniki. The city is located in the Northern part of Greece, the opposite part of Greece to Athens in the South. The Soul Eaters apparently let him go._"

The news caster paused briefly while the TV screen came up with a bedraggled man at a press conference, he was old-ish and olive skinned with curly silver hair matted with dirt. He was wearing a suit but it was disheveled, the white shirt was a grayish-yellow, one side of the collar was sticking up, his tie was undone, the jacket sleeve was tearing off. His whole outfit was filthy, torn in places and stained in others with dark patches of crimson that looked like blood. The stand out thing about him though, was a huge and deep 'X' shaped wound across his cheek, it seemed to be healing into a scar somewhat but it was still only a few weeks old at most. The man looked terrified, his brown eyes couldn't get any wider and he was shaking uncontrollably while babbling rapidly in a language Jack didn't understand but guessed was Greek.

_It is Greek_, One confirmed in his mind while on screen two Aurors led the muggle president away from it all. It then cut back to the woman in the studio, she continued.

"_President Megalos offers a full surrender of the country to the Soul Eater insurrection and desperately urges the respective leaders of the thirteen self-governing regions of Greece to do the same, before the Soul Eaters take further action. He claims they have no idea what 'The Shadow Master' - revealed to be the alias the apparent leader of the terrorist group is using - and Soul Eaters are capable of, warning resistance will only lead to further devastation like the nine successful attacks so far. Shortly after his press conference, the president slipped into a coma believed to be the result of injuries he suffered while captive and is currently being treated in a private, secure facility. The extent of his injuries and odds of recovery is not publically known at this time but his cheek wound was new and noticeable._

"_President Megalos also provided photographic images taken by the Soul Eaters to show the state of the city, trying to spread fear to encourage Greece to yield. After initial circulation on local news in Thessaloniki, the images were pulled from the air and confiscated by the Greek government. They insist the authenticity of the images is questionable and urge the public to not take them as solid fact, they say it's likely the images were tampered with to make the situation seem direr. All outside attempts to capture visual images or footage has fallen flat, even satellite has been unable to see anything as a result of what is believed to be as yet unknown technology the Soul Eaters have access to. This led to much speculation that the Soul Eaters are a rebelling branch of the Greek military or government, one with access to the unknown technology the Greeks may have been developing. However, the Greek military has denied this on multiple occasions and insists they have no technology close to what the Soul Eaters could be using or any idea of the origin of the terrorist group. The long-term goals of the Soul Eaters continue to remain unknown at this time. While the Soul Eaters have committed crimes in every country, the knowledge of whether the civil dispute will leave the Greek borders also remains unknown. More on this story as it develops_._ I've been Trina Meadows, Channel Five News_."

"Why were the Aurors taking that man away, Jack?" Flynn asked as the TV cut back to the movie.

"Why doesn't the Aurors tell the muggles that they're fighting wizards?" Ivy wondered.

"Why don't the Aurors just step in and fight the Shadows?" Agnes questioned.

"Since when did kids care about current world events?" Jack scoffed, not wanting the little ones to worry about it.

_Probably because they know about the Shadows. Children know more than the muggle population, isn't that shameful?_ One commented in his mind, _You know, killing them would stop them worrying _

"Just enjoy your movie, okay? We're not in Greece so we're fine," Jack told them.

"Shadows aren't just in Greece though," Agnes pointed out seriously, running a hand seemingly subconsciously over the side of her face gorged by Greyback and glancing in the direction of Michael's door. Greyback had been a Shadow, he'd been the one to turn Michael to a werewolf but it had backfired when Michael killed him once transformed.

"Well they seem to be right now so relax, I might let you have ice cream if you do," Jack offered with a wink and the younger too started beaming, Shadows forgotten while Agnes kept her concerned expression but still went silent, "I'm going to check on your brother and then I'll see what selection of ice creams we have today."

"Chocolate!" Flynn called eagerly as Jack turned away to go upstairs.

"Chocolate chip!" Ivy countered with equal enthusiasm as Jack started climbing the spindly staircase.

"Chocolate _with_ chocolate chip."

"Oooh," Ivy said with interest before Jack was out of earshot upstairs, he sighed.

"_I want pain flavor_," One stated with Jack's voice again, "_We need to feed, Jack_."

"We fed off the whole of PAW a few months ago! Isn't that enough?!" Jack hissed irritably as he paused outside the door to the room Bertie and Flynn shared. The people they'd killed in mass had been People Against Werewolves, a group targeting werewolves like his son.

"_Even if you eat a lot in one sitting, you'll still digest it and need more eventually. This isn't any different, we can feel the hunger starting to take hold and it won't just go away by itself. We need to kill again_," One insisted.

They could feed off any kind of pain - whether they caused it or not - without the victim realizing, however the pain someone suffered from having their soul destroyed was the most painful thing anyone could go through. That was the only thing that really satisfied them for long, destroying the soul resulted in the physical death of the person as well as taking away any chance of an afterlife. Jack hated it. But he also loved it, it felt good. Jack hated that he loved it even more. Most of all though, Jack hated how much he wanted to give in to One. It terrified him that he _wanted_ to destroy souls just as much as he didn't, he resisted because it was wrong but damn, he wanted it. He didn't want to hurt anyone who didn't deserve it though regardless, unfortunately that wasn't an endless list. One wrenched the door open while he was momentarily lost in thought.

Bertie was lying in his little bed, hazel eyes wide as he stared at them while gripping his blankets up to his nose tightly. Jack would've bet he'd heard at least some of his conversation with One. He made an attempt at a kind smile regardless as he strode over to the toddler, Jack couldn't help but be reminded of Bob whenever he saw him. His chubby little cheeks reminded him of Bob's obesity, the hair was so patchy he looked like Bob's balding head and his very name even as Bob and Bertie were both nicknames for Robert. He didn't regret killing Bob, just thinking about him reignited his anger at the man who'd hurt his son and his... Crystal. He still hated Bob, he hated him so much.

"_Bob was a despicable person_," One said when Jack opened his mouth to address Bertie, a mental image of Bob flickered over the boy's face, "_A horrible, horrible person and this piece of shit is just the same, just as cruel, just as evil. By killing him you'd really be doing the world a favor, sparing his future wife and kids from suffering like Michael and Crystal did. It would be easy, so easy and would help us in the process. Go on, kill it. Kill it now_."

"He's... He's Crystal's son," Jack tried to protest, it came out weaker than usual as seeing Bob's face was distracting.

"_She'd never know, it's not your fault if his little black heart gives out. We killed Bob and Ruth the same, Crystal was born with a heart defect so it's not going to seem that unusual really. They'd write it off as a weak heart failing from the stress he's experienced so far in his short, meaningless life._"

Jack wasn't sure if it was he or One who raised their hand, holding out their palm to the boy. One was right, it wasn't like anyone would know. No one had caught him yet for his previous kills yet. Bob's son was bound to be bad, he'd be a selfish, sadistic brute before too long. Killing him now saved his future victims and ensured Bertie could never tell on them, his hand started to tremble as he readied himself. But he paused, focusing on the boy's pure white aura indicating his innocent soul and he stopped seeing Bob's face.

Hazel eyes were welling with thick, watery droplets on a face white with fear. Eyes just like Crystal and their son. Bertie was shaking too, his tiny body trembling with terror as he continued clinging on to his blankets with white knuckles. What was he doing? He wasn't going to hurt a child. Especially not Crystal's child, not his son's half-brother. Jack lowered his arm and silent tears rolled down Bertie's cheeks, he backed away guiltily.

"_Oh come on!_" One protested angrily, "_Just kill him, damn it! We need to feed! We need to ensure he won't talk! We need to get as much power as we can with the Scepter in action!_"

"Not him," Jack whispered, shaking himself in shock at how close he'd gone to ending Bertie's existence.

"_If not him then who? Your sister?_"

"Not my sister," Jack protested, one advantage of her being gone… wherever the hell she was these days, was that One had stopped wanting him to kill her. He thought for a moment on who, he'd have to go with someone to shut One up, "The man who killed Crystal's grandmother. I know where he is in prison, we'll kill him."

* * *

**Part 3: **Families

* * *

Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy dragged his heels back through the doors to Malfoy Manor in tired relief, a bag slung over one shoulder and his baby brother, Sol, on one hip. He'd started to doubt he'd ever get to go home again, the attack on Greece had caused a halt to all magical inter-continental travel which had stranded them in Egypt. He had actually managed to enjoy his vacation for the most part for the first month, like his mother he'd thought it was quite interesting to sight-see and learn about Ancient History – much more interesting than History of Magic - but like his father he'd disliked the sand and heat. The second month though, had crawled along agonizingly slowly and it hadn't helped non-governmental owls had been banned from flying intercontinentally so he'd had no contact with his friends or gotten his Hogwarts letter. He just worried about war. It had only just been deemed acceptable to travel and so they returned home on the morning of the last day of August, one more day and he'd have missed the return to Hogwarts.

"Home at last, eh?" Scorpius commented to his brother, Sol gurgled and drooled onto his shoulder in reply while the Malfoys moved back into their home, "Thanks for that."

"You can put that down, the house-elves are getting the bags now," his father told him and Scorpius shrugged off the bag, one of the house-elves caught it and vanished with a pop to presumably put it away.

"Oh dear, are you drooling again?" his mother sighed and took Sol back from him, Astoria was the sole brunette of the household as Sol now had downy blond hair, "Draco, do you have a wipe?"

"Sure," his father confirmed and patted himself down before apparently realizing he had none so instead took out his wand to conjure it from somewhere, "And Scorpius, check the kitchen for mail because we're going to have to get your Hogwarts stuff today."

"It hasn't arrived yet," his grandmother called from the kitchen.

"Why hasn't it arrived yet?" Scorpius tried to ask but it came out more like a demand, feeling suddenly suspicious about no letter when his parents weren't keen on him attending school.

"Sometimes they arrive really late, I'm sure Hogwarts has been busy _not_ being attacked by Soul Eaters," his father said dryly as they headed into the kitchen after his grandmother.

It was a big kitchen with a flagged stone floor and dark walls, there was a large oak table a bit away from the counters that they tended to take breakfast at as the room was easiest for owls to get into to deliver things. House-elves were already setting to making them breakfast by the looks of things, the mail was sorted neatly into three piles on the table already. One was newspapers arranged chronologically, one was letters for him, one was letters for his father, one was letters for his mother and one was letters for his grandmother. Scorpius was noticeably the most popular in terms of letters, his mother second and the other two had barely anything. His grandmother was standing by the mail, looking through the top paper.

"The Ministry were still torn on who to let run the school, whether to let Elwood stay or cave to the negative backlash Nott has been bringing up for him over the kidnapped students," his grandmother informed them as her eyes skimmed the article.

"Can I see?" his father asked and his grandmother removed the page she was reading to hand him the rest of it.

"I passed it in there somewhere," his grandmother told him and moved on to the next paper.

"Erm... Mother, what are you doing?"

"I only care about the articles on Voldemort's son, I told you."

"You're back to that again?" his father wondered worriedly, his grandmother had apparently developed a habit of hoarding articles on that development since it had been revealed in June. His parents were concerned, she had also been quite withdrawn.

"I never stopped," his grandmother admitted, his father opened his mouth to say something but their conversation was interrupted by a businesslike barn owl flying in. It flew over to Scorpius and dropped its cargo before departing, he recognized the Hogwarts seal before he'd even picked it up, "About bloody time."

"Well go on, open it up," his father urged him with an odd amount of enthusiasm.

Scorpius frowned again for entirely different reasons as he opened the letter, it was the standard letter informing him he was returning for another year with a book list. Including a Charms book by Wynston Grant, the Charms Professor he despised and he couldn't help but feel annoyance that he would be essentially giving Grant money from royalties. No wonder he had them use his crappy books, he was a greedy prick on top of everything else. Silvanus Elwood was also still listed as Headmaster so he supposed Elwood had won the war against his reputation. Scorpius looked back up and saw his family was all staring at him.

"What?" Scorpius questioned in confusion, it was just a standard Hogwarts letter.

"Anything else in the envelope?" his grandmother prompted and it dawned on him why the interest.

"I didn't make Prefect, Albus must've got it."

"That's blatant favoritism that is."

"I don't mind," Scorpius assured them, if anything he thought he was better off with more free time although he would miss out spending time with his girlfriend. He was dating Molly Weasley and had been for over a year now, she was a Seventh Year prefect herself. He wondered idly if she'd made Head Girl.

"It's alright, now you'll have even more time to buckle down and study for you OWLs," his mother offered cheerfully, "There's always Head Boy and Quidditch Captain for you to get anyway."

"It's an important year," his father added, "You want to do as well as possible on your OWLs to keep the choices for your NEWTs open."

"But don't stress yourself out."

"I'm not stressed," Scorpius insisted, in truth he hadn't given them a second's thought.

Mostly he wondered about that woman who claimed to have escaped from Athens, he hadn't heard from her since. He didn't know who she was, he didn't even know if she was still alive with the Shadows after her. He'd guess they were after her because they didn't want her to reveal anything about what happened, which meant she may know something of use. She'd known about the Scepter somehow and had wanted more information on it for some reason, that was also odd. He wanted to talk to Varanian about it, something else he hadn't been unable to do in Egypt. Varanian was a former Headmaster of Hogwarts, he'd been framed for Soul Eater crimes and become a fugitive seeking to bring down the Shadows. Scorpius had found something of an ally in him and they were fighting the Shadows together, along with an increasing number of others. Varanian really should give their group a name already.

"Scorpius, are you even listening to me?!" his father snapped abruptly, drawing Scorpius back from his thoughts.

"Yeah, of course I was," Scorpius lied, he hadn't even realized his father had been speaking.

"Then what was I saying?"

"You were saying 'Scorpius, are you even listening to me?'"

"Before that."

"Oh, lay off the boy," his grandmother complained as she tucked the stack of newspapers under her arm, "I'll being these back after I've gone through them for articles."

"Try pace yourself," his mother offered worriedly as the elder woman left, his father looked after her anxiously for a minute before turning back to him and continuing.

"I was trying to impress upon you how important this is for your future," his father began seriously, "You need good OWLs to get good NEWTs and you need both of them to get a good job."

"A good job?" Scorpius wondered incredulously, "Now you're worried about my future career path?"

"If every Malfoy lived off the family fund then it would run out, our name was mud when I left Hogwarts so I couldn't work but you... You've done things to restore dignity to the family name, a career is possible for you. You have a bright future, Scorpius, you can do anything you set your mind to."

"There's a war going on."

"We noticed, you keep getting mixed up in it. We can't even go to Egypt without you being attacked, you've pissed off some powerful people."

"I didn't piss them off, they pissed _m_e off," Scorpius muttered truthfully, he wanted to kill that son of a Voldemort, "They were after that woman."

"The one who sought _you _out because she knew _you_ were involved," his father pointed out, "Besides, we don't know they were after her for sure."

"They left when she disapparated."

"What your father means is there's no reason for you to not plan for your future," his mother interjected, "The First Wizarding War ended, the Second Wizarding War ended and this war will run its course too. It'll probably be over by the time you graduate, I know that it must be stressful to think about your future with the war going on but you should."

"Yes, you can do great," his father spoke up again and gave him a thin smile, "You've proven to have a talent for Quidditch, you could have a real shot at playing professionally like you wanted."

"I'm not five years old anymore, I don't want to play Quidditch professionally," Scorpius protested and his father looked oddly saddened.

"Well, you could always get a job in the Ministry, you're a smart boy and if you keep your grades up then you could get a really good job," his mother added, "They pay well too."

"I don't want to work at the Ministry, they're a bunch of idiots even if they weren't infiltrated by the enemy."

"Well then what do _you_ want to be?"

"I don't want to be anything," Scorpius told them seriously, "There won't _be_ a future if we don't win the war against the Shadows, that's more important than OWLs or careers that will die with life as we know it if they win. I should be fighting not studying, the Ministries of the world should've united the second Athens was attacked and drove the Shadows out."

"I hear what you're saying," his mother said slowly and Scorpius breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good."

"You want to be an Auror," his mother deduced wrongly and Scorpius slapped a hand to his face.

"Astoria! Don't encourage him to do that!" his father hissed, "He's in enough danger without facing it for a living."

"Draco, we should be supportive of his career goals."

"I don't want to be an Auror!" Scorpius interrupted in frustration and it was his father's turn to look relieved, "They're part of the Ministry and just as useless."

"Well good, you definitely should go with a career that's nice and safe. If you don't want something in the Ministry then become a Potioneer, perhaps? Potion-making is both enjoyable and profitable, inventing potions that have great use can make you a fortune."

"He prefers spell work to potion-making," his mother pointed out before Scorpius could insist he didn't want to be a Potioneer, "Maybe inventing spells would be more your speed, dear? It can be quite tricky but you're smart and skilled enough, I think."

"I need to lie down," Scorpius groaned, putting his face in his hands and turning to leave.

"You get some rest. And think about what jobs you'd be interested in!"

"We'll get your Hogwarts things, just keep an eye on your grandmother from time to time," his father offered and Scorpius paused briefly in surprise, "What is it?"

"You have no problem with me going to Hogwarts this year?" Scorpius wondered, last year they'd outright banned him and he'd had to run away to get there in the first place.

"Of course," his mother said seriously.

"Your OWL year is very important," his father added and Scorpius groaned again as he left, hearing Sol gurgle on his way out.

"I pity you in fifteen years," Scorpius muttered to his brother even though he was well out of earshot and the baby was incapable of understanding him anyway.

He trudged up to his room, the old oak floorboards creaking familiarly underfoot in contrast to the slapping steps of his feet against stone in Hogwarts although he spent so little time in his room now that it barely felt like his room anymore. There was a wardrobe, desk with chair, a chest of drawers and bedside tables littered with photographs, all in the same dark wood that matched the floorboards, his bed frame, the door and half the wood-covered walls. The top half of the walls was an incredibly dark navy that matched his neatly made double bed, it was meticulously clean.

He sighed and went over to his bed, throwing himself down onto the blissfully soft fabric. It wasn't a lie to say he was tired from his journey, however he wasn't going to sleep or think about potential careers like his parents wanted. As soon as his parents left, he was going to see Varanian. There was no future unless they beat the Shadows, what was the point in even thinking about it when he should be focusing on that? Ignoring the war wasn't going to make it go away, he had to fight, he had to make things right. It had consumed his thoughts since the attack on Athens, did it really not bother his parents? His grandmother? Did no one care the Shadows were taking over a country and no one was trying to stop them? From what he gathered in the papers, the Egyptian Ministry was more concerned with keeping the magical involvement from the muggles and had even volunteered Obliviators if it became necessary to start wiping memories in mass. They'd had a close scare with the muggle leader being given photographs depicting magic, it was almost like the papers were more freaked out by that then the war itself. It made no sense to him. Maybe the world just didn't make sense anymore.

* * *

Albus Severus Potter woke early the morning of the last day of summer, forcing his groggy eyes open. He had gotten into the habit of waking early to make time to practice Quidditch but no matter how hard he tried, he still couldn't wake without sleepiness fogging his mind like everyone else seemed able to easily. It was his last chance for a lie-in before Hogwarts - assuming the letters ever came - but he rejected it in determination to keep his commitment and sat up instead, sighing as he rubbed his eyes. He wished he had no chance for a lie-in actually, he was desperate to be back in Hogwarts as he was at odds with most people in his family which made the sunny summer days long and uncomfortable.

His dad was unwavering in his beliefs that Varanian had to be arrested but Albus knew the man was innocent and that arrest would result in his death at the Shadow Aurors hands, neither could convince the other although Albus had tried many, many times. Even if their conversations didn't end in an argument, the issue still hung over their heads like a dark cloud which resulted in extremely short, overly civil communication. It didn't help his dad seemed to be making a real effort to be at home more, he'd wished it for years but now they felt further apart than ever. His mum was wholly on his dad's side and thought he was being unreasonable so their relationship had similar - albeit less severe - ramifications, he wasn't angry but just hurt to feel like his parents weren't on his side anymore. There was nothing he could do about it though as Varanian's innocence wasn't opinion, it was fact. Honestly, sometimes he thought his dad was just angry that he'd gone with Varanian willingly in the first place which was just hypocritical. What did he expect him to do when his sister and friends had been abducted and he could help save them? Did he really think Albus should do nothing because it might be dangerous? When had that stopped his dad - or his mum for that matter - ever?

He was angry at James though, his brother had helped bully his friend Latimer into attempting suicide and the worst part was that he had no remorse. Albus refused to even consider forgiveness until James apologized, naturally James hadn't. He and Lily were okay though, he'd actually tried to be nicer to Vern but his cousin was being oddly withdrawn. Vern Dursley was the only magical child of his Uncle Dudley, Uncle Dudley and his wife had been murdered by Greyback a few years prior and the orphaned Vern had come to live with them while his muggle siblings lived with Great Aunt Petunia. Vern was the year below him and - unlike him - was a Hufflepuff, they'd managed to end up with the same friends though so he wound up seeing more of his cousin then he'd wanted. Despite initially disliking him for being a Dursley, he'd actually come to respect Vern. Albus felt stupid disliking him after his actions a few months previously, although he did still miss having his own room. Vern was already up though, he hadn't been sleeping the best that summer as a few months previously he'd also nearly died and was in more pain then he liked to let on. It kept him up sometimes although instances of that were decreasing, he'd thought so anyway.

Albus hauled himself out of bed to get dressed, pausing to check himself in the mirror. One too many people had referred to him as 'pudgy' for his liking, he thought he'd lost weight from practicing Quidditch and trying not to snack but he wasn't sure and he was too embarrassed to ask for scales to weigh himself to be certain. Being 'pudgy' might be the reason girls didn't seem interested in him after all, he'd never had a girlfriend or had his first kiss and he considered that incredibly embarrassing at fifteen, almost sixteen because of his October birthday. This year was the year though, he was going to get a girlfriend like everyone else in the world had. He was hoping he was in better shape and that he might make prefect, girls thought prefects were cool... right? If his deaf, scarred, war-obsessed and sometimes scarily psychotic friend could get a pretty girl - even if she was an evil Slytherin - to like him then surely he could... right? He couldn't be _that_ unlikable, surely?

He headed down the stairs of 12 Grimmauld Place regardless where he was greeted by the succulent scent of sausage cooking, which was a welcome surprise even if it would delay his Quidditch practice. The arguing was a not-so welcome surprise though, he entered the kitchen to see everyone but his father and Vern in attendance. His little sister, the thirteen year old Lily, was sitting at the table - which was set for breakfast already - and seemed to be doodling something. She did mostly take after their mum in looks and had the same bright brown eyes, however she was the only one of the Potter children who needed glasses and wore rounded ones like their father. Her hair wasn't quite shoulder-length and kept back with a hair clip, it had the Weasley red color but the Potter unrelenting unruliness. His mum was standing beside James, which was the source of the arguing. James had the same untidy black hair as Albus and their dad but had freckles and brown eyes like their mum, Albus was quite proud of being taller than his elder brother. James was a year older then him and had just gotten his OWL results back by the sound of it, hence the sound.

"JAMES SIRIUS POTTER, YOU EXPLAIN TO ME HOW YOU GOT THREE _TROLLS_!" his mum was screaming at her eldest and waving a piece of paper that presumably had the results, James pouting irritably, "THREE TROLLS?! REALLY?! _THREE_, JAMES?!"

"I passed in everything else!" James protested angrily while Vern came into the room, he was almost as tall as James now but being stick-thin still made him seem scrawny. His shadowed emerald eyes were pink and puffy today though, it was as if he'd been crying for some reason, "I got two Outstandings in Charms and Defense Against the Dark the Arts!"

"YOU FAILED A THIRD OF YOUR CLASSES, JAMES! A _THIRD_!" his mum continued her tirade but Vern paid them no mind as he came over to the table, brushing his stringy brown hair from his eyes before starting to pour himself some of the waiting orange juice.

"History's crap, Astronomy's dull as shit and Potions is impossibly difficult! They barely even count as classes!"

"HOW COULD YOU LET YOURSELF DO SO BADLY?!"

"I don't know, maybe it's because my brother and sister were missing!" James yelled back, starting to look upset as well as angry.

"And Vern was injured," Albus spoke up.

"NO ONE GIVES A DAMN ABOUT VERN!"

"Yeah, Albus, no one gives a damn about Vern," Vern commented expressionlessly as he took his filled glass of orange juice to drink elsewhere, Albus stared after him for a minute and wondered whether he should go talk to him.

"YOU COULD STILL HAVE DONE BETTER!" his mum continued furiously as if no one had spoken in between.

"I GOT FOUR Es AND TWO Os!" James shouted back, matching her volume now.

"TROLL IS THE WORST GRADE YOU CAN GET AND YOU GOT THREE!"

"WELL THEY ARE CRAPPY SUBJECTS!"

"I EXPECTED MORE!"

"YOU JUST HATE ME BECAUSE I MIGHT BE GAY!" James blurted out in a scream.

Albus' head shot back to his brother and mother so fast he heard a snap. James slapped both hands over his mouth but it was far too late to stop his words, mother and son's identical eyes both bulged in shock. His mum gaped at him so widely that her jaw looked like it was about to become unhinged, apparently at a loss for words while tears bubbled in James' eyes. Then James bolted, tearing out of the room like his life depended on it. Loud banging footsteps followed as he thumped up the stairs, ending with the sound of a door slamming shut which finally seemed to pop the balloon of silence and free his mother from her frozen state.

"James, wait!" his mum called after him, throwing the paper onto the counter and racing after her son with admittedly less thunderous footsteps. Albus instead turned to his sister, wanting to share his surprise.

"Lily, did you just hear that?" Albus asked of her, she was still engrossed in whatever she was drawing.

"Hear what?" Lily wondered disinterestedly without looking up.

"Hear what James just screamed!" Albus explained with a scowl while Vern came back into the room, still holding his now less full glass.

"Nah, I zoned out from all that yelling a while ago."

"Vern, did you hear that?" Albus turned to him instead.

"Hear what?" Vern wondered with an equal amount of disinterest to Lily, Albus rolled his eyes.

"Hear what James yelled across the room!"

"No, I wasn't paying attention and I was in the other room," Vern pointed out before tossing him a letter, "Your Hogwarts letter by the way, soon as we have breakfast we're going to Diagon Alley to get our supplies."

"Thanks," Albus said dryly and Vern left again, Albus groaned at the lack of interest for James' life before tearing into his letter. He took out the paper and peered into the envelope, he didn't see a prefect badge. He proceeded to shake the envelope out upside down but nothing came out, he sighed, "I didn't make Prefect, Scorpius must've got it."

He looked to Lily for her reaction but she didn't seem to be paying attention, she was still focused on what she was doing. Fed up with her ignoring him, Albus snatched the paper away from her. That got a reaction, she leaped up to try snatch it back but Albus had the advantage of the table in the way as he simply stepped back from it while she was stuck sitting. He glanced down at the page while she was scrambling to get to him and was stunned by what he saw, the entire page was filled with heart shapes with an arrow through them. Each one reading 'Orous + Lily' in differently decorated lettering, Lily snatched it back while his jaw was hanging open.

"You like _Orous_?!" Albus burst out in shock while his sister scowled at him darkly.

"Yes," Lily confirmed, hugging the paper to herself.

"Why would you possibly like Orous?!"

"That's a jerk thing to say about your friend," Lily complained at him snippily.

"He's an albino! His eyes are red! His hair is white! His skin looks like the sun bleached the color out of it! How can you _possibly_ think he's attractive?! What do you see in him?!"

"I happen to think he's cute," Lily insisted before giving a saccharine smile while one hand started twirling her hair, "And kind. And brave. And gentle. And heroic. And loyal. And sweet. And-"

"You can't like Orous!" Albus interrupted angrily, disgusted the thought of his little sister liking someone at her age. Or worse, dating. Or worse, holding hands with a boy. Or worse… _kissing_ with a boy.

"Why not?" Lily pouted.

"Because he's an albino!"

"I don't care about that."

"He's a Hufflepuff!"

"I don't care about that either."

"He's been through a lot, you don't want someone damaged!"

"Now you just sound like a jerk."

"He's... gay!" Albus invented and Lily's expression flickered briefly with surprise.

"VERN!" Lily called and Albus slapped his face, of course she'd ask Orous' closest friend.

"What?" Vern wondered as he poked his head back into the room. And of course, Vern would tell her.

"Is Orous gay?"

"No. Not unless you know something I don't."

"I didn't mean gay," Albus interrupted, "I said it by mistake, I meant he has a girlfriend."

"No he doesn't."

"Vern! Would you shut up?!" Albus hissed irritably and Vern retreated back into the other room.

"Looks like he's straight and single and I can like him if I want to," Lily announced determinedly and stalked off, Albus sighed. The return to Hogwarts was looking less appealing now.

* * *

**Part 4: **Group

* * *

Scorpius waited until his parents and Sol were gone before leaving, Varanian had given him a Portkey Ring he'd created - and somewhat invented - that was activated by vocal command. It could also be used to communicate short messages, it came in handy. The golden ring transported him to a field close to where Varanian's hideout was, he still remembered the way easily and started out through the long tendrils of green. It was a hot day, despite being the last day of summer the sky was the same brilliant blue as his girlfriend's eyes and the golden orb hung along in the sky. He was kind of fed up with heat after being in Egypt for so long, it was probably going to be a frustratingly sweltering September.

"_Expelliarmus!_" a woman's voice cried.

Scorpius drew his wand with practiced ease and speed, ready for attack as he ran towards the source of the sound. He still felt uncomfortable holding his wand though, he'd burned his hand pulling Varanian out of the fire and even after the arduous process of healing it didn't feel right. Holding or touching anything made him acutely aware of the mass of scar that was his hand now, feeling where all the ridges, lumps, bumps and grooves were. He came to an abrupt halt as he saw the source of the spell. There wasn't an attack, there was some kind of training session going on with Varanian, Roman and Annie.

Roman Rivers and Wyatt Grant were also both staying with Varanian, they were wanted dead by the Shadows and Roman was also wanted by the Ministry for Shadow crimes he'd been forced to do. Annie Thorne - his friend Michael's aunt - was a muggle paramedic or had been, she'd got mixed up with them when Scorpius had had to take her and Michael there to avoid being killed by the anti-werewolf group PAW. They'd gone to her out of desperation when Varanian and Wyatt had been injured a few months ago, she'd either been staying with them or just spending a lot of time there to help. Annie was also a witch, a muggle-born who'd missed out on finding out about magic and Hogwarts due to Voldemort banning muggle-borns from Hogwarts during the Second Wizarding War. The Ministry hadn't managed to track down all the muggle-borns who should've attended during that time, Annie had missed out big time.

"That was better," Varanian was saying as Scorpius approached the trio near the tree line, not far from the massive dilapidated lump of a hideout.

"Glad it's better, can I stop being a target dummy now?" Roman complained, he was standing in front of a tree holding a wand loosely by his side. A tree that was missing half a branch, it was lying a few feet away.

He'd never thought he'd been glad to hear Roman complain but it was a good sign, Roman had seemed like some kind of zombie last time he'd seen him. He'd had the magic ripped out of his soul and put back, it scrambled your mind for a while apparently. He wasn't dressed in his usual preferred meticulous way though, looking rougher and his muddy brown eyes looked so hopeless they reminded him of Orous or Antonius. Roman was also the father of two of his friends, twins Maurice Rivers and Orous Knox, they lived their muggle stepfather though. They didn't take after Roman much in terms of looks, Maurice was the spitting image of his Shadow mother and Orous was an albino. Roman had short jet-black hair, neater then Harry Potter's but messier then Calderon's. He was also the uncle of his girlfriend.

"No," Varanian shot him down immediately as he limped over to Annie, who was standing facing Roman with a wand outstretched.

He was shocked to see Varanian was using a walking stick and limping in the first place, although he supposed after being burned alive that he needed to recover. Scorpius had had to take potions to repair the damage and do exercises to strengthen his healing muscles, it had barely been usable at first so Varanian probably had it the same if not worse as he'd been cinderized from the neck down. And for the second time in his life, Varanian had suffered the same fate years before at the hands of the Death Eaters who'd murdered his wife and kids. His scars were still visible, as a metamorphmagus he could - and tended to - hide them although Scorpius supposed he might need to heal more to do that... He didn't really know how it worked. Any visible part of Varanian's flesh not his face - except for a bit on his chin and lower cheeks, almost like a 'V' shape - was scarred, the same pale assortment of blotchy lumps and pits of scarred flesh as Scorpius' hand. He didn't even have fingernails. His hair was his preferred short, scruffy tawny color with the first flecks of gray and his ever piercing eyes were silver today, he tended to bounce between that and a cold blue.

"You just need to relax your grip a bit more," Varanian told her.

"Maybe you're just a lousy teacher," Annie grumbled, she was pretty and in her thirties like Roman. She hadn't changed. Her reddish-brown hair was tied back and up as usual with a hair clip, cobalt blue eyes shadowed with fatigue, a trait she shared with Varanian. All of them were dressed in muggle clothes and long sleeves despite the weather.

"Maybe you're just a lousy pupil," Varanian countered easily as he shakily stood unaided to correct her grip.

"Okay, I'll give you that. Every teacher I ever had would agree with you there."

"Just try it again like that and don't tense up, stand relaxed like you are now. If you're tense then the slight spell recoil will jerk the spell way off where you want it go, if you're relaxed then there's some give and you have more control. Got it?"

"Got it," Annie confirmed with a nod as Varanian hobbled back with his walking stick, "_Expelliarmus!_"

This time, the red jet shot out perfectly and struck Roman square in the chest. His wand went flying, Annie gave a triumphant whoop of delight and jumped, punching the air. Roman's expression was somewhere between annoyed and bored and he went to retrieve his wand.

"Do you have to do that every time you successfully cast a spell?" Varanian chided, "It's like you have ADHD or something."

"Huh, well now you just sound like my shrink."

"My point is that in a real duel, your opponent isn't going to wait around for you to celebrate."

"Well it's not like they'd have anything better to do when their wand is halfway across the room."

"What's to celebrate? You can only do like five spells," Roman grumbled as he came back over to them.

"Hey," Scorpius called out as he got close enough to feel like he should make his presence noticed.

"Hey Scorpius," Varanian greeted him as their attention turned to him, "Long time, no see."

"I was stuck in Egypt, they-"

"Banned inter-continental travel, we know."

"You were in Egypt?!" Roman burst out abruptly and loudly, "I've been to Egypt!"

"When?" Annie wondered and Roman's expression became a scowl.

"I don't... I don't remember. But... But I was there, I'm sure I've been there. I can remember a bit..."

"Don't strain yourself," Annie offered and clapped in on the back before heading towards the hideout, "Let's get back inside, I need a drink."

"You just drink too much," Roman griped as they followed, Roman walking much faster than the struggling Varanian. Scorpius hung back to walk with him.

"You're teaching Annie to do magic?" Scorpius asked, deciding to go to the most recent thing now on his mind and Varanian nodded.

"And brushing up on Roman's dueling skills, the more he does the more he remembers," Varanian told him and Scorpius couldn't help but notice how awkwardly and shakily Varanian's legs moved, , "They both need it, Roman's wanted by the Shadows and Aurors so he needs to be able to defend himself and get away. Even if he can't be killed with the Killing Curse, there's other ways to kill. And Annie needs to know magic, it's not healthy to not know even if she wasn't caught up in the war. Not like I really have anything better to do while I'm recovering, not able to spy on anyone like this. Wyatt's on his own for now."

"You will get better though, right?" Scorpius wondered worriedly, not liking the thought of Varanian hobbling around for the rest of his life.

"Yes, I will get better. Unfortunately these things just take time," Varanian confirmed and Scorpius nodded in understanding, "How's your hand?"

"Better, I guess. It works. Feels weird though," Scorpius admitted and Varanian inclined his head as if in agreement, "How are you doing?"

"Great. Aside from wishing I'd heal faster anyway," Varanian told him, much to Scorpius' surprise as they reached the doorway left open for them. Varanian stopped and reached out with the hand not holding his walking stick to stroke the door frame, "See?"

"See what?"

"No pain. It doesn't feel like I'm running my fingers across jagged steel," Varanian explained as he moved his hand away, "Wood feels more like wood, soft things feel softer, smooth things feel smoother. And it doesn't hurt to touch things anymore."

"Well that's good."

"I guess it does sound weird... Sometimes you just don't realize how much pain you're in until you're not anymore. Hello Wyatt."

Scorpius blinked in surprise and noticed a small winged lizard gliding near them just in time before it transformed into a person, Wyatt Grant. He was the son of his Charms professor and infinitely more likeable, he was wanted dead by the Shadows for witnessing them killing his roommate. He was in hiding as a result, although he was widely believed to be dead, and also trying to fight the Shadows now. He was an unregistered - he couldn't register without risking death going into the corrupted Ministry - animagus, which came in useful. He was the youngest of the bunch, only in his early twenties with bright azure eyes and bouncy hair that seemed unable to decide whether it was blond or brown.

"Hey," Wyatt greeted them and flashed a smile, "And Scorpius, my friend, it's good to see you again! How was Egypt?"

"Sandy and hot," Scorpius pointed out as the woman came back to mind, "Actually something happened there - Shadow related - that I really want to talk to you about."

"Weird. I didn't think they were after you," Wyatt said with a scowl.

"They weren't."

"Good," Varanian offered as he headed inside and gestured for them to follow.

The place had come a long way since Scorpius had first seen it, it had been buried in layers of dirt, smothered in dust and falling apart. Now it had been cleaned up though, he'd never have guessed the walls would have been orange or that the floorboards could have a warm shine to them. There were doors leading off to the sides and he knew there was a trapdoor to Varanian's basement room where he also kept all his information, the staircase was opposite them and the kitchen right beside that. Annie was waiting for them, leaning lazily against the wall and sipping a bottle of beer. She headed into the kitchen once she saw them, Varanian followed instead of going down into his basement to talk to him as he would've expected.

"They'll find out anyway," Varanian explained, apparently noticing the look on his face, "I can't do much right now."

"I got information too," Wyatt added excitedly as they went into the kitchen after Annie.

It was a decent sized kitchen although not as big as the one at Malfoy manor, there was a similarly sized wooden table but everything looked different. The floorboards continued into the room and the walls were small tiles of oranges, reds and yellows. The cupboards had rounded wooden handles and were white, matching the white speckled counter top. Annie pulled out one of the chairs for Varanian to sit on and left a glass of water by him before going over to the other side and taking one for herself, leaning back and plonking her feet down onto the table. Scorpius and Wyatt took a seat either side of Varanian, Roman scowled at Annie's feet as if offended but she made no move to put her feet down and instead took another gulp of her beer. Roman dragged the end chair into the corner to drink his chipped cup of tea, continuing to eye her darkly.

"So what happened with the Shadows?" Varanian asked of him immediately and Scorpius launched into an explanation of what had happened in the ancient magical city with the woman. Roman and Annie continued sipping their respective drinks throughout while Wyatt took out a bag of gummy worms to start munching on, however they all did seem to be paying attention.

"And she said she was from Athens, Greece when it was attacked-"

"NOT GREECE!" Roman screamed abruptly and lurched forward, interrupting Scorpius' account and drawing the confused eyes of the rest of them.

"Why not Greece?" Wyatt wondered while Roman looked absolutely horrorstruck, his expression became puzzled though at Wyatt's question and he frowned.

"I don't... I don't know," Roman admitted as he leaned back, looking very much like he was desperately trying to remember something, "Do I... Do I know anyone in Greece? A woman maybe? A girlfriend?"

"You?" Wyatt questioned before he, Scorpius and Annie all burst out laughing. Roman had been brutally opposed to dating and had had some odd beliefs about woman before, including thinking the Shadow Master was a woman. Roman now though, only scowled more at their laughter, "C'mon, Romeo, you were fiercely opposed to that sort of thing, _I_ have more chance of having an ex-girlfriend then you!"

"And you hate women, Roman,," Annie added.

"And you're terrified of women," Scorpius agreed.

"And you hate being around people."

"And you're terrified of people."

"Well fine, maybe it wasn't a person," Roman spat out irritably, "Maybe it was an artifact."

"Much more likely," Wyatt offered while Roman sat there sulkily, Wyatt offered him the bag, "Here, have a gummy worm. They're gummy. And wormy."

"Really? I would never have got that from the name!" Roman snapped sarcastically while Varanian just turned back to him, "You'll get fat if you keep eating them and all your teeth with fall out.

"You were saying, Scorpius?" Varanian prompted and Scorpius continued his explanation without further interruption.

"Well that is most interesting," Wyatt mused when he was done, "Because I found out today that Soul Eatery Shadows in England have to be on the lookout for some blond woman who managed to escape Athens after the attack, they think she's headed here if she's not here already. I also heard they were keeping an eye on you while you were in Egypt, probably why they found her so fast when she tried to talk to you."

"On the bright side, at least we know she's probably still alive. If she's here then we can try to find her and find out what she knows, I wonder why the interest in the Scepter though. It's not something everyone knows. They didn't happen to mention her name, did they?"

"No. I honestly don't think they know it, they might have narrowed it down to witches unaccounted for but I doubt they'd find and identify all the dead to know for sure which missing name is hers. Assuming they're even that organized about it."

"Any other news about the Shadows?" Scorpius asked curiously.

"Not really," Varanian sighed, "Shadow spies are really the only ones left in England right now, the Shadow Master, Brutus and Rabastan are all in Greece. All the focus is on Greece. Unless they have something important to report or that they need to know, they keep their heads down and aren't privy to things regarding Greece or the Scepter. The spy lieutenant is the only important person left and we don't know who he is so we can't spy on his communication with the others, he's great at covering his tracks."

"Any news about the Ministry then? Things happening in England generally aren't covered in the Egyptian news."

"That we do know stuff about. The Ministry just wants to save themselves, they've lowered the standards for accepting Aurors and are urging everyone able to join. They need to replenish their numbers after those who died defending the Scepter, they want Aurors ready to defend themselves if and when the Shadows turn on England. There are public service announcements every hour on the wireless and every day in the paper, they're encouraging teenagers to drop out of Hogwarts as soon as they come of age to sign up and are giving criminals a pardon if they agree to sign up. Your mental state no longer matters, as long as you can use a wand then you can be an Auror and they've altered the training. Instead of years of work, you go on an intense training course for a few months and are deemed ready. Those already in the old training get to stick with it though."

"Quantity over quality," Roman offered with a shrug.

"I don't think Potter agrees with it to be honest. He wants them to reach out to other countries and work on a united defense, the Minister however thinks they should only look out for themselves not spread themselves too thin trying to help the rest of the world and will be unable to help themselves. Most countries tend to be doing the same, they're either far enough from Greece that they think the war won't get to them or they're close enough to only be concerned with protecting themselves in case they're next. And then there's keeping the magical secret, the devote more time worrying about how to keep it all under wraps then they do about the actual threat."

"In fact, they're almost abandoning Greece for that very reason," Annie spoke up, "They've had the Greek muggle government sever their connection to the internet, stopped all cell phone usage and limited only government phone lines to be able to call out of the country. They're cutting them off so it's harder for word of magic to spread if it does get out, all those things are ways muggles communicate by the way. Maybe they think letting the Shadow Master have Greece will satisfy him enough to leave the rest of the world alone."

"No one really knows what to do you see, something like this hasn't happened before. Dark Wizards in the recent past mostly terrorized the wizarding population, wanting to dominant that before taking on the larger muggle population. Those further back didn't have to worry about it as it was much harder for muggles to stay in touch long distance so only the immediate targets would have learned of magic. The Shadow Master is going after both though, taking both the muggle and magical populations in one sweep. The magical governments don't know what to do, they're afraid of having to deal with the statute of secrecy being broken. It would cause absolute chaos, life as we know it would crumble around us. The muggle world would be in so much turmoil that it would almost be like the Ministry would be facing a war on two fronts, the Shadows and the backlash from muggles. This is probably what the Shadow Master wants, the Ministries are so concerned with keeping things hidden to prevent that they aren't dedicating the time or resources to stopping the Shadows. So the Shadows thrive."

"By the time they turn their attention to the Shadows, they won't have to worry about the muggles freaking out because the world will already be in the Shadow Master's control," Wyatt tried to joke but it struck them more like a serious outcome, if a little exaggerated.

"Don't you think we're getting ahead of ourselves?" Roman interjected, "The Shadows aren't that powerful, they'd never really get that far."

"They have control of three of the thirteen regions of Greece already, the more they take the more they have to throw back at the world."

"How can we stop it?" Scorpius asked seriously, feeling the gravity of the situation weighing heavily down upon him.

"We stop the Shadow Master before it gets that far, stop them before it escalates anymore," Varanian answered with equal solemnity, "This is the Shadow Master's show, take him away and his followers will crumble."

"How do we stop him?"

"Get the Scepter back somehow, it'll strip him back down to being human and slow the speed of his destruction."

"How do we do that?"

"I don't know, that's why I said somehow instead of something specific. Maybe that woman knows something that could be useful."

"How do we find her?"

"I don't know, Scorpius!" Varanian protested somewhat testily, "I don't know everything in the world."

"You don't know everything in the world? You, really?" Annie wondered in a tone laden with sarcasm and Varanian threw her a look, "For shame."

"You know, I was thinking," Scorpius spoke up, "My friend Latimer has a father."

"Your friend has a father? I would never have expected a person to have a father, that's a strange thing that is."

"Annie," Varanian said warningly.

"Pip," Annie countered.

"Thorne."

"Varanian."

"Are you done?" Varanian complained of her and Annie gestured for Scorpius to continue, settling back and sipping her beer again.

"Latimer's father, Austin, is also wanted dead by the Shadows as he rejected joining them," Scorpius continued, "He wouldn't join them and he's running for his life, I don't know if he'd help you but in exchange for safety here and a wand - he's desperate to have a wand, he lost his when he was expelled - then he'd probably help. It's another person for our group, you really should think of a name for us yet."

"Not you too," Varanian growled and rolled his eyes, "There is no name because there is no group! And we're not gathering extra people."

"Look around, Pip," Annie prompted and gestured to the five people in the room, "There's a group whether you want there to be or not. Unless wizards define 'group' differently to normal people."

"We don't," Wyatt confirmed and grinned, "Since we're talking about names for our group, I'd like to vote for Lizards."

"I'd like to vote for anything except that."

"I'd like to vote for Varanian's Group of Lunatics," Roman offered.

"I'd like to vote for anything except that," Wyatt stated.

"There's no vote!" Varanian insisted, "There's no vote because there's no name, there's no because there's _no group._"

"We need people if we're going to take down the Shadow Master," Scorpius pointed out, "Worked out well for Dumbledore and his Order of the Phoenix or Harry Potter and his Dumbledore's Army."

"You'd think they'd be called the other way round, huh?" Annie mused thoughtfully.

"There's no group," Varanian repeated forcefully, "There's just me and... and you people are just sort of here and not obligated to stay or anything."

"I think it's a good think wizards don't have English, you'd have complete flunked forming coherent sentences and identifying the difference between a group and not a group."

"There's no group."

"Saying the exact same thing over and over absolutely makes it more true."

"Can we just move on?" Roman sighed tiredly, "You're both stubborn enough to be at this for hours."

"I was also thinking," Scorpius spoke up again, "That I could drop out of Hogwarts and just stay here to help out with the war."

"No," Varanian shot him down immediately.

"But-"

"But nothing, you're bound by the Trace even if we ignore everything else. You need to be able to defend yourself without bringing the wrath of the Ministry down upon you."

"Isn't there a way to remove it?" Scorpius wondered, knowing he sounded almost pleading, "You're smart, you could figure it out."

"No, I couldn't. I don't know enough about how it works to even begin to figure it out. Besides, it's important you stay at Hogwarts."

"Because this is my stupid OWL year?" Scorpius snapped harsher then he intended, "I should be helping fight in this war not studying or thinking about stupid careers or the stupid future."

"No," Varanian said simply, "Because of you what you need to learn, not for grades or OWLs but for knowledge and experience. Useful spells, useful potions and being able to succeed at both of those. A basic knowledge of herbs and creatures comes in handy, knowledge behind how magic works, knowing Runic can be useful. Non-verbal magic and apparation are a must. There's things you need to know and Hogwarts is the best place to learn them, you don't need to study but just pay attention."

"I think OWLs are important if I remember," Roman whispered quietly, his expression strained as if he was trying to remember things, "I don't think I did well...? Maybe? Did I get yelled at?"

"I wish I'd studied more for my OWLs," Wyatt sighed, "My Dad told me they were super important and I kind of didn't study just because I wanted to do the opposite of what he said. Rudy got straight O's though, he was a Ravenclaw though so what do you expect?"

"My parents were nagging me about them too," Scorpius admitted, still thinking they were pointless although he could see where Varanian was coming from in terms of learning, "What did your parents think of OWLs, Varanian"

"My Mum died when I was seven, my Dad when I was eleven," Varanian told him with a shrug, "They didn't live long enough to give me their opinion on OWLs."

"Ha, I win on the Mum but you win on the Dad," Annie pointed out and Varanian frowned in confusion, "I was six when my Mum died so I win being the youngest when Mum dies but I was twelve when my Dad died so you win being the youngest for when Dad dies."

"My parents both died when I was nine," Roman added, "Unless you lied to me."

"Haha, I beat you all," Wyatt commented with a smirk, "My Mum died when I was only two weeks old, beat that."

"It's not a competition," Varanian insisted and Scorpius felt oddly less annoyed with his parents, at least they were alive to bother him.

"But if it was then I'd win," Wyatt reiterated and Varanian rolled his eyes, "Study, Scor, it's better to have the grades and not need them then to not have them and need them if that makes sense. If the world falls apart then oh well but if it doesn't and we win then you might need them for the future."

"Don't study too much, I think I got sick?" Roman said, sounding much more like he was guessing while Wyatt sighed.

"I gotta go, one of the spies should be leaving for lunch now and sometimes he meets up with another and they discuss things."

"Be careful," Varanian offered as Wyatt stood to leave.

"Be careful?" Wyatt repeated with sarcastic undertones and slapped his hand to his head, "And all this time I thought I was supposed to be reckless!"

"Oh just go already," Varanian complained and Wyatt left with a grin, Varanian instead turned to Annie, "He wasn't this sarcastic before he met you, I blame you."

"You're welcome," Annie commented with a grin, "Anything to make your life easier."

"How did your OWL year go?" Scorpius asked of Varanian curiously while Annie went to get another beer, Roman seemed to have decided the conversation was no longer important and also left.

"Erm... It was different," Varanian admitted and scratched his chin thoughtfully, "My grandfather died and I got landed in foster care which I ran away from, Ethel got prefect and I didn't so we always seemed to have less time together, Ethel and Brutus wanted to study but I didn't-"

"I thought you hated Brutus?"

"I did but I still enjoyed dueling him and taunting him, which he wouldn't do when he was studying and he just ignored me," Varanian explained and cringed slightly, "One time Ethel was desperate to study as did everyone else whose names I forget, I was desperate to duel Brutus but no matter what I said he refused to take the bait and stop studying. I got so pissed off that I blew up the table he was studying at and Ethel's, quite literally I exploded them into shards. I was in so much trouble, quite rightly. I spent much more time in detention that year then I did studying to be honest. I was a bit of a bastard, really. Once I actually stormed off right when we were about to walk onto the pitch for an actual match, just because Charlie Weasley mentioning being excited to play on the new broom his family had gotten him for his birthday."

"You were jealous he got a new broomstick?" Annie wondered as she sat back down with a raised eyebrow.

"No, I was jealous he had a family to buy him a new broomstick, I was even convinced he was rubbing it in my face. Which was completely unjustified. We lost the match and the Captain... whatever his name was, kicked me off the team. I was so angry that I... I blew up his broom," Varanian explained and put a hand over his face, his cheeks tinging scarlet with embarrassment while Annie laughed, "It was a brand new model as well... I think my Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher sorely regretted teaching me the Blasting Curse before the year was up."

"You sure liked blowing shit up, huh? And that poor Captain Whatever-His-Name-Was."

"I never really paid that much attention to my classmates, I knew them by sight but not by name. You should learn the Blasting Curse this year, Scorpius, that's also good to know. It's better than the Blasting Spell from Third Year, just... don't blow up tables or broomsticks or desks-"

"Whose desk did you blow up?" Scorpius blurted out, failing not to be amused at the thought of Varanian blowing up a teacher's desk. Varanian buried his face further into his hand.

"McGonagall's. She said metamorphmagi often went through tumultuous mood swings, especially during adolescence so I... I blew up her desk," Varanian admitted and Scorpius joined Annie in laughing.

"Way to prove her wrong!" Annie congratulated him mockingly as he lowered his hand, still looking embarrassed as he shook his head.

"Ironically though, despite_ all_ that. I still did great on my OWLs," Varanian told him, "So you don't have to study to do well, just make sure you pay attention in class and learn the things they're trying to teach you. OWLs are just a way to prove what you know after all, I figured if I didn't know it then I hadn't been paying attention so I didn't deserve the OWL in the first place."

"That makes sense," Scorpius agreed.


	2. Chapter 2: The Old and The New

_**Parts (5-8)**_

* * *

**V  
**

**Chapter 2**

The Old and The New

* * *

**Part 1: **The More Things Change

* * *

It turned out, Scorpius' estimate about the weather had been utterly wrong. He awoke the next morning to find sheets of rain showering down from the sky, not the ideal weather to be heading back to Hogwarts in. He'd packed his trunk ready when he returned from seeing Varanian, adding the supplies his parents bought when they returned. They'd also gotten him a book '_Choosing A Career To Be Content With: The Ultimate Guide for Young Minds_' as reading material for him while in Hogwarts, he'd conveniently 'forgotten' it before heading downstairs to breakfast. His father conveniently remembered it though, Scorpius knew he should have conveniently 'lost' it instead. Scorpius started to understand why his parents were worried about his grandmother though, she barely hugged him goodbye and went back upstairs to study her articles. It was odd.

He left with his parents and Sol with plenty of time to spare to get to the platform, Sol at least liked the weather and kept trying to eat the raindrops. His mother dried them all off with a flick of her wand once they were inside, he pitied the muggle-borns who wouldn't have the luxury of magic to dry themselves. He went to go find his friends while his parents got his trunk onto the train, or at least his father did as his mother was pointing out the train to Sol and telling him one day he'd be on that.

"Scor!" a familiar voice cried just after he was out of earshot of his parents, he turned in time to recognize his friend, Albus Potter, before being pulled into a hug. Albus hadn't changed much, he had the same jet black hair that stuck up all at odd angles and emerald eyes, "How was Egypt?"

"Sandy and hot," Scorpius offered as Albus pulled away, "How was England?"

"Not-sandy and hot. Congratulations by the way."

"On what?" Scorpius wondered in confusion.

"Making prefect," Albus prompted and Scorpius' scowl only deepened, they were both Gryffindors so one of them had to have made prefect but it wasn't Scorpius.

"I didn't make prefect, I thought you did."

"Scor!" a second familiar voice called and Scorpius was hugged by the shorter Rose Weasley, another of his friends.

If all of his friends were going to hug him then it was going to get rather tedious, he was glad when she pulled away to hug Albus instead. She hadn't changed either, blue eyes set on a freckled face and red bushy hair tied back in a ponytail. Thankfully it was red, she'd gone through a phase the previous year when she'd dyed it several shades brighter then gold. He saw her Weasley grandparents nearby, they had probably brought her as both her parents were often busy working at the Ministry since the war started. He spotted her younger brother, Hugo, with them as well. The thirteen year old was the only one of the Potter-Weasley clan to not have gotten Gryffindor, instead being the sole Hufflepuff of the family. He looked a lot like his sister, freckles, blue eyes and bushy hair except shorter and not tied back in a ponytail.

"I can't wait to be back in Hogwarts, this is our OWL year! OWLs! Can you believe it? I'm so excited, I do hope I do well though, Mum did so great that it's a lot to live up to. What am I saying though?" Rose babbled, sounding excited, "What were you too talking about before I interrupted?"

"How neither of us made prefect," Albus explained with a frown but Rose brushed it off.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that. They were in such a rush to get everything out that they haven't chosen prefects yet, my badge hasn't come yet either."

"Did it occur to you that maybe you just didn't get prefect?" Scorpius wondered and just Rose laughed.

"Hey guys," another familiar voice greeted him and he turned to see Vern coming over to them with his Slytherin girlfriend, Olivia Nott. Vern didn't hug him but that might have had something to do with the fact he was holding her hand, she brushed her dark brown hair from her sapphire eyes to give them a smile.

"Hey," Scorpius offered in greeting, glad Vern seemed to be doing alright and he liked Olivia well enough.

"Don't be ridiculous, of course I made prefect. Who else would they possibly choose over me?" Rose continued, almost as if she hadn't noticed their arrival and he would have thought just that if she hadn't offered a semblance of a wave for them, "Clearly, they're just too busy scrambling that they haven't chosen prefects yet."

"Yes they have," Olivia said with confidence.

"No, they haven't."

"Yes, they have."

"No, they haven't. What do you know about prefects being chosen anyway? You're the year below us, you don't have the chance to make prefect until next year."

"My brother's in your year though," Olivia pointed out, "And Maxie made prefect, if they chose the Slytherin prefects then I can't see why they wouldn't have chosen the others."

"Then mine must've been sent to someone else by mistake!" Rose insisted stubbornly.

"Yeah, _clearly_ that's it," Albus offered sarcastically.

"It is. And they lost either yours or Scorpius' too."

"Okay," Olivia said slowly and exchanged a dubious look with Vern before apparently noticing someone, her smile returned, "Look there's my Dad! C'mon Vern."

"See you guys," Vern offered nervously as Olivia led him away, "Assuming I survive this meeting. Hi Orous and Maurice, bye Orous and Maurice."

"Where's Vern going?" Orous asked as Roman's twins came over to them, he noticed their stepdad hauling their trunks onto the train behind them.

Orous was odd looking due to his albinism, his skin was so pale it was practically colorless, his eyes as red as the Hogwarts Express and his shoulder-length hair with a slight wave to it was pure white. He looked nothing like his twin, Maurice in contrast had cold oceanic eyes and shorter light brown hair with a slight wave to it. His hands - and more of his body covered by clothing - were scarred with layers of words from years of use of a blood quill, he clutched the teardrop shaped necklace he wore which could translate what they were saying into written words so he could keep up with the conversation. He was deaf after all. They'd grown a bit taller since he'd last seen them but still weren't taller than him, they weren't too much taller than Rose in fact but they were still taller despite being a year younger.

"Apparently meeting her father," Albus shrugged while his eyes immediately narrowed on Orous darkly, "And what time do you call this? Lateness is not very becoming!"

"What?" Orous wondered in confusion, glancing down at a wrist watch that barely concealed the scars on his wrist. The three lines wrapping around were identical to his own, Maurice only had one line for some reason but it wasn't as noticeable because of the blood quill scars, "There's quarter of an hour before the train leaves."

"You decided to arrive with only quarter of an hour to spare?! What is wrong with you?!"

"I don't... what?" Orous said, his expression only twisting with more confusion as was Scorpius and Rose's. Scorpius opened his mouth to ask why when Lily came over to them.

"H-Hi Or-Everyone," Lily greeted them shakily, putting on a smile that seemed unnaturally wide and toothy. That she kept up unrelentingly, she wiped sweaty hands on her dress and tried to cover it by smoothing out her dress. He also noticed the same sticky sheen on her forehead, she also had a flower in her hair for some reason.

"Do you have a flower in your hair?" Rose asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's a lily, I think?" Orous guessed.

"Y-Yes, you're right! It-It's a flower," Lily told them, sounding oddly awkward and still smiling psychotically, "The same as my name. Lily. Not flower. My name is Lily not flower."

"I know what your name is," Orous assured her and Lily laughed nervously, stopping abruptly when it became a snort. Horror flashed on her face before she regained herself and stretched out her face in a smile again but it no longer touched the terrified eyes hiding behind her glasses, the droplets of sweat started dribbling down her face. Everyone but Albus was looking at her in puzzlement, he didn't know Lily well but he hadn't seen her act like that before.

"Don't you like it?" Lily wondered as her smile slipped again.

"I-"

"I don't like it either! It was a stupid thing to do! I can get rid of it if you'd like!" Lily blurted out loudly and wrenched it from her hair, throwing it to the ground before violently and repeatedly stomping on it. This made her already untidy hair messier to give her even more of a crazed look. She turned back to Orous when she was done, smiling again, "See? It's gone!"

"I erm... was going to say it was nice," Orous pointed out uncertainly.

"Oh, I think it's nice too! I can get it back!"

"But you just said-"

"I CAN FIX IT! SEE ALL BETTER!" Lily yelled even louder and picked the crumpled flower back up, it was now falling apart but she rammed it back onto her head regardless and grinned again. It quickly died though as she apparently realized how odd her behavior seemed, she then she ran off crying.

"Albus, I think your sister's gone insane," Maurice stated calmly, his voice now broken by the sound of it despite being the younger of the twins.

"It's Orous' fault," Albus complained and Orous' eyes bulged in shock.

"What did I do?!" Orous wondered in shock, "I barely even know her!"

"She has a crush on you, you idiot!"

"Seriously, what is her problem with me?" Orous asked, looking concerned.

"She has a crush on you."

"Seriously, what is her problem with him?" Rose asked instead and Albus looked exasperated.

"She has a crush on him!"

"I think they want the truth," Maurice pointed out.

"That is the truth!"

"I'll go talk to her and find out what her problem is, don't worry," Rose assured them before going after Lily.

"Is it really that hard to believe she has a crush on you?!" Albus demanded in frustration of Orous.

"Yes," Orous admitted with sincerity, "You know I look like a freak and after what I've been through, no girl would ever want someone like me. Ever. It's mean of you to make up stuff like that."

"I didn't make it up!"

"I'm going to go help my Dad with the trunks for a minute," Orous stated, clearly not believing Albus as he went off to assistant the stepfather he considered his real father.

"I'm going to go find Lenore," Maurice told them dismissively and also left.

"I'm not making it up!" Albus moaned and slapped a hand to his face, "You believe me, right?"

"I do," Scorpius confirmed, "But you shouldn't be such a jerk to Orous about it."

"I just don't want my little sister dating, she's far too young. And little. She can't even handle talking to him, she's not ready. And he's too old for her, a year is a lot."

"I don't think it's really any of your business or mine. And you're overreacting anyway. Just because she likes him, it doesn't mean that he likes her back or that they'll start dating. You never dated any of your crushes or anything."

"True," Albus admitted and took a deep breath, "But this is the year that that is going to change, this is the year that I'm going to finally get a girlfriend."

"Really? I heard you were gay or only liked old women," a more unfamiliar voice pointed out and they both turned to the speaker, Lenore.

Lenore was a girl Maurice had a crush on who had kissed him at the end of the previous school year, Scorpius wasn't sure where they stood now but she'd came over with Maurice. She had wavy red hair and sharp features, he supposed she was pretty enough although was wearing just her Hogwarts robes already with a shiny new Head Girl badge to go with a prefect one. She was a Seventh Year Slytherin, three years older than Maurice. Her, Scorpius didn't like so much. It also meant Molly hadn't gotten Head Girl.

"What?! Who says that?!" Albus blurted out in panic.

"Everyone," Lenore said in the drawl she seemed to speak in, looking almost bored of the conversation, "I don't know who said it first but it's pretty common knowledge, your brother telling everyone you're gay probably doesn't help."

"Well it's not true!"

"Uh-huh," Lenore offered dubiously and Albus' ears burned red.

"It's not!" Albus insisted more forcefully.

"I didn't say anything," Lenore told him with a smirk before walking off with Maurice.

"Lenore's going to show me how to make out!" Maurice informed them excitedly with a grin as he went with her.

"I miss the old Maurice already," Albus sighed unhappily after them, "And I don't like that scumbag Slytherin slut."

"I do hope you're not talking about Olivia again, wasn't trying to save your sister's life enough to put her in your good books?" a more familiar voice offered and he turned to see another of his friends, Abby Longbottom, their Herbology professor's younger daughter. She usually wore her blond hair in a long braid but it had been cut short during her brief captivity last year, instead she had the shorter hair in small pigtails tied with bows of Gryffindor color. She was about Rose's height but somewhat lankier.

"Abby! It's good to see you," Albus said with a smile and pulled her into a hug, "I missed you."

"I saw you last week," Abby pointed out as she pulled away.

"Yeah but still," Albus shrugged while Abby instead hugged Scorpius, everyone was a hugger except him.

"How was Egypt, Scor?"

"Hot and sandy," Scorpius told her as he pulled away, "How are you?"

"I made prefect," Abby informed them and held out her hand to show them the badge as proof, giving them the slightly crooked smile she had.

"Congratulations!"

"That's awesome!" Albus agreed happily, "You earned it."

"Thanks," Abby nodded and her smile wavered, "You don't think Rose is going to have a problem with it though? That I got prefect and not her?"

"Rose? Nah, you know Rose," Albus brushed it off.

"I kind of do, that's why I'm worried," Abby pointed out, just as Rose happened to return.

"Would you believe it _is_ true-" Rose started to say but stopped and smiled when she saw the prefect badge in Abby's hand, "Ah, thanks Abby. I _knew_ they'd sent my badge to someone by mistake."

"What? No," Abby said as Rose went to take the badge, closing her fingers around it and moving her hand away which caused Rose's smile to became a scowl, "I got prefect, not you."

"That's impossible," Rose scoffed, "My parents were both prefects and only one of yours was. And my grades are better than yours. I deserve that badge, there must have been some kind of mistake."

"There wasn't, my Dad-"

"That's it, isn't it?!" Rose shrieked suddenly angrily, "You just got prefect because your Dad's a professor! That's blatant unfair favoritism!"

"You think I just got prefect because of my Dad?" Abby wondered, looking somewhere between hurt and angry, "You don't think I'm good enough to be prefect?"

"Of course not! I'm much better then you at everything! Except Herbology! And that's a stupid subject because you have to get your hands dirty!"

"There's more to it then grades, it's also about being mature and responsible."

"I'm mature and responsible! I'm way more mature and responsible then you!"

"That's why you're throwing a temper tantrum because I was made prefect over you?" Abby demanded, her expression still hurt but her eyes flickered with rage.

"I'm not throwing a temper tantrum!"

"Then why are you yelling?" Scorpius wondered of her and Rose threw him a dark look.

"That's not yelling, THIS IS YELLING!" Rose screamed in his ear loud enough for him to cringe before storming off.

"Okay, I get why you were worried," Albus admitted, rubbing his own ear, "Wonder who the male prefect is."

"Dad didn't say," Abby said quietly, "Didn't either of you get it?"

"No," Scorpius pointed out.

"Reuben Tear might've got it, I don't think he gets in a lot of trouble."

"Nah, was probably Ren Hayashi," Albus offered a name Scorpius didn't recognize, "He's pretty smart."

"Who?" Scorpius wondered in confusion, "I don't remember that name."

"Of course you don't, you don't pay attention to anyone in our year."

"I do too."

"Okay fine, name five people in our year."

"Michael-"

"Who you're not friends with," Abby added.

"Reuben Tear and Angelo Jordan."

"They're our roommates," Albus pointed out, "They don't count."

"Devin Copper, that guy Rose used to date," Scorpius said with a scowl as he struggled to think of more, "Nott, Maximus Nott. And Knight."

"First name?"

"I don't know his first name! Byron? No wait, that's his brother."

"How can you know his brother's first name and not his?!" Albus wondered incredulously, "Just admit it, Scor, you don't pay attention to anyone in our year."

"I know their faces, just... just not their names," Scorpius admitted and realized how much like Varanian he sounds, "I'd like to see you do it. And I'm guessing that Hayashi kid is one of the Asian-looking ones? Right?"

"Hey guys," another familiar voice greeted them obliviously and Scorpius was glad for the pressure to be off him as he turned to see Tobias Latimer, another of his friends but in the same year as Molly rather than them.

Latimer was unfortunately afflicted with a heavy amount of pockmarks due to suffering from a bad strain of Dragon Pox when he was younger, even worse were the deep, think scars running across his face where he'd been slashed by a werewolf's claw a few years ago. It was miraculous they managed to miss his reddish-brown eyes though, his nose and mouth hadn't been so fortunate however. His hair was black but shockingly shorter, cropped from being almost shoulder length the last time they'd seen him. Latimer was smiling though which Scorpius took as a very good sign, Latimer had attempted suicide a few months ago.

"You got a haircut," Albus commented in surprise, "I almost didn't recognize you."

"Yeah, I did," Latimer confirmed with a nod and ran his hand through it, "Feels weird now but I thought it'd make me look more presentable because... well, guess who got Head Boy?"

"Get out, really?!" Albus wondered in shock and Latimer's grin widened as he pulled back his jacket to show he was already wearing his robes, upon which was pinned a 'Head Boy' badge along with his one for prefect, "Congratulations, Lat!"

"Well done," Scorpius added and returned the smile.

"That's great," Abby agreed as she also smiled.

"Thanks," Latimer said somewhat sheepishly, "I still can't believe it. I mean, I only got prefect because the first guy died but... well, I'm assuming their first choice didn't also die. What are the odds of that though, seriously? I just hope I do a good job."

"You'll do great, mate," Albus assured him and clapped him on the back, "You can't do any worse than your counterpart. That Slytherin bitch, Lenore, got Head Girl."

"Abby's got prefect though," Scorpius told him.

"Well done, Abby," Latimer offered and Abby smiled weakly, probably still thinking of Rose's reaction, "You'll have to come to the prefect's compartment, my first duty is to instruct new prefects on their duties."

"Bonjour," another familiar and deep voice greeted them and he saw Corin Maxime-Hagrid come over.

Corin was the year below them but even taller than all of them, he was the son of two half-giants so was extremely tall for his age and was thin unlike his father. He had beady black eyes and wild dark that his comb seemed to have tamed, his face was looking less boyish which looked less jarring on an adult-sized body. His mother was the Headmistress of the French Beauxbatons school where he lived when not in Hogwarts, he was fluent in both French and English.

"If that means hello then hi," Latimer told him with a nod in greeting.

"Yes, that is what it means more or less," Corin confirmed and sighed, "I am so glad to be here, the security travelling between countries has really been knocked up a few notches. I was afraid I'd have missed the train by the time they let me through."

"Think that's bad? I only got back from Egypt yesterday," Scorpius pointed out while some tall boy came over to them, "They banned inter-continental travel after the attack on Greece."

"That sucks," the stranger commented in an unfamiliar somewhat gravelly voice, much to Scorpius' annoyance.

"Can you not eavesdrop on other people's conversation?"

"Get your own friends," Corin snapped irritably.

"Beat it before the Head Boy gives you a detention," Albus added and gestured to Latimer.

"Guys, it's me!" the boy protested and Scorpius turned to look at him properly for the first time, gawking as he realized it was his best friend, Michael Sanford.

Gone was the small, scrawny boy shorter than girls in years below him, Michael had gotten a hell of a growth spurt and was now taller than both him and Albus, he was on par if not slightly taller than Latimer. He was also no longer scraggy, he'd filled out with more muscle tone. He was still Michael though, his left hand was as scarred as Scorpius' from when his arm had been burned and he had a scar going from his forehead across his right eye and down his chin that Scorpius had given him. That eye was a prosthetic and golden from picking up his werewolf nature now, the other was a dazzling hazel and he had the same tangled mess of light auburn hair flecked with blond, brown, red and more gray then there'd been last time. His voice was also clearly no longer high-pitched and girlie, he definitely didn't look like a little kid anymore.

"Michael?" Scorpius wondered in shock and Michael nodded with a grin, "You... You got tall."

"Guess who finally hit puberty?" Michael offered while they continued to stare.

"Merlin's ass, Michael, I didn't even recognize you!" Albus burst out and Michael laughed.

"I kinda figured as much."

"You must've grew over a foot," Latimer agreed, "Damn, you got old fast."

"I have to look up to talk to you now," Abby said what Scorpius had been thinking.

"And guess what else?" Michael continued eagerly as he pointed to the front of his robes, Scorpius had been so focused on the height increase he hadn't notice the badge on his robes. He also still had the friendship bracelet Scorpius had given him on his wrist as well, "I made prefect."

"So did I. And Latimer got Head Boy. Molly didn't get Head Girl though."

"Speaking of Molly, I'm going to go find her to make sure she's not suddenly six feet tall too," Scorpius spoke up when he found his voice as thought of the time and hugged Michael, finding it weird his friend was now taller than him before pulling away, "Catch up with you guys on the train and congratulations on making prefect."

It occurred to him just after he left that he wouldn't be able to catch up with them on the train, Michael and Abby would have to go into the prefect's compartment now. Along with Molly and Latimer, hence why he'd wanted to see his girlfriend beforehand in the first place. And he quickly did see her, his heart skipped a beat and he smiled despite himself. She was beautiful. Curls of crimson cascaded from her head, her bright eyes were the color of the sky on a crystal clear day and her face was flawless, soft, smooth skin untouched by freckles. He'd missed her. Moving over to her though, he realized why she hadn't gone off to find any of them.

"And you need to remember, just because you didn't make Head Girl that doesn't mean it diminishes your chances of a successful career in the Ministry," her father, Percy Weasley, was saying to her. She noticed him though and grinned, her smile lit up her whole face and he returned it easily, "You still made prefect and Quidditch Captain at a record-winning age, these things absolutely still count as positive things in your favor. Combine this with good OWLs and good NEWTs then Ministry will be happy to hav-"

"Hey Dad," Molly interrupted and moved over to him, "You remember my boyfriend, Scorpius?"

"Of course," Percy nodded in acknowledgement and Scorpius couldn't help but feel oddly happy hearing her introduce him as her boyfriend.

"Hello, Sir," Scorpius greeted him politely, "I didn't think you usually dropped Molly off because of work."

"I wasn't going to miss the last chance to see my little girl off to Hogwarts," Percy insisted and smiled happily, his younger daughter was a squib so Lucy could never attend Hogwarts, "I can't believe this is your last year! I can't wait to pick up here as a Hogwarts graduate! I'm so proud of you, Molly. I'll even take the day off and we can do something to celebrate."

"Sounds fun," Scorpius offered dryly as the elder Weasley seemed to have forgotten about him, speaking drew the attention back to himself though.

"And this is your OWL year if I remember correctly, did you make prefect?"

"No, I didn't."

"Ah, a shame," Percy said with evident disappointment, "But hope is not all lost, you still have a shot at Head Boy in a few years and Quidditch Captain after Molly leaves. And you still have your chance to prove your worth now by getting good OWLs, get good OWLs and that will increase your chances of making Head Boy. It also gives you a better shot at the NEWTs you want and need, you should take as many subjects as possible which is only possible if you get high enough results to continue the subject into NEWTs of course. You need good NEWTs for a good career in the Ministry, which you should certainly are thinking of."

"Dad, he doesn't want to hear this," Molly complained.

"My parents already talked about this stuff," Scorpius admitted truthfully and resisted the urge to sigh, they had continued their obsession with it at dinner yesterday, "They're also very keen for me to do well."

"And quite rightly so, all parents should be," Percy continued brightly, "You're both at very important stages in your life right now, OWL and NEWT years are the most important in the whole of your Hogwarts education."

"Scorpius, there you are!" his mother exclaimed as his parents found him, "People are starting to board the train now."

"You remember my girlfriend, Molly?" Scorpius offered and they glanced at her with Percy, "And this is her father, Percy Weasley, we were just talking about the importance of OWLs and NEWTs for the future."

"Good," his father commented dryly with an odd look at Percy before handed Scorpius the book from before: '_Choosing A Career To Be Content With: The Ultimate Guide for Young Minds_' which almost made Scorpius groan, "We saved you this as reading material for the journey, it's a long trip so you should be able to make a good start on it."

"An excellent use of the journey time since he's not busy with prefect duties," Percy agreed and Scorpius felt like slapping his face in exasperation, was that all adults cared about? Not the war destroying the world out there? "Now is the time to be thinking of your future career, there are many different branches of the Ministry for you to succeed in."

"See, Scorpius? There is some variety within the Ministry."

"Absolutely."

"You were saying something about boarding the train, Mother?" Scorpius interjected, desperate to be away from the tedious lectures.

"Oh yes, you should both get going," his mother thankfully said and pulled him into a sort of three way hug with Sol as well before kissing his cheek, he failed not to blush in embarrassment at it being done in front of his girlfriend while Molly was embraced by Percy. His own father was against hugging in public and simply patted his shoulder, "Now kiss you brother goodbye."

"Mother!"

"Come on, you're not going to see him for a long time."

"Fine!" Scorpius agreed in frustration and kissed his baby brother on the forehead, Sol cooed and tried to grab his ear but he narrowly avoided the little baby hand, "Bye-bye Sol, your brother loves you very much and I'll see you… eventually. Can I go now?"

"Yes," his mother sighed, "Just take care, focus on your OWLs and we'll write to you real soon."

"And don't obsess over the war," his father added as Scorpius turned, "OWLs take priority, don't stop thinking about your future and career options."

"I got it," Scorpius insisted, "Goodbye now."

"Bye son, we love you," his mother called after him as he trudged onto the train with Molly.

"I never thought our parents would have something in common like that," Molly commented as they made it onto the train, waving briefly and leaving their parents sights.

"Neither did I," Scorpius admitted truthfully.

He turned around to face her finally, he opened his mouth but was silenced as she pressed her lips against his for the first time in months. He kissed her back as passionately as a starving man was for food, relishing the feel of her soft lips against his. He encircled his arms around her, pulling her closer and drowning in the blissful scent of cherries that always seemed to surround her. Her fingers glided through his hair, making his head tingled at her touch. He wished he didn't have that stupid book in one hand before Molly abruptly pulled away.

"Are you okay?" Molly asked him worriedly, her face still inches from his own, "I didn't mean to come on so strong, I just really missed you. I didn't freak you out again, did I?"

"No, I'm fine," Scorpius assured her, the previous year he'd panicked when they'd tried to make out as he was reminded of some bad memories from his time at the hands of abusive muggles and they were still somewhat cautious. Unfortunately. Scorpius hated that he was like that, it was shameful and embarrassing and he tried not to think about it. He caressed her face with his free hand and felt even more self-conscious, what would Molly think of his scarred hand now? He tried to shove those thoughts aside for the moment, "I missed you too. And now I'm wishing I had made prefect just so we didn't have to sit apart on the train."

"Don't worry about it," Molly said with a smile and he noticed up close the shadows of fatigue beneath her eyes, "Today's Friday, we have the whole weekend without classes and homework to catch up."

"Good, there's some stuff I need to catch you guys up on too," Scorpius pointed out as he recalled the woman, "It shouldn't take all weekend though."

"I'm glad," Molly offered and kissed him again before pulling away, "I've got to get to the prefects compartment, I'll see you later."

"We can share a carriage together," Scorpius called after her before going to find a compartment or his friends, whichever he came across first.

* * *

James Sirius Potter was miserable. He'd gotten his OWL results back and his mum had been angry about them, apparently three bad grades cancelled out the good ones. He'd been so upset he'd accidentally blurted out his shameful secret and now his family hated him. His parents had said it didn't matter, that it was alright and they loved him anyway but he knew it was a lie. He could see it in their eyes, see the way they looked at him. Disappointed, ashamed, embarrassed, humiliated, maybe even a little disgusted. He knew that was the reason his dad had had to work instead of coming to the platform to see them off, he'd been spending more time at home with the lately so it was the obvious reason.

His best friend, Carver, thought he was overreacting but James knew his own parents better then Carver. He knew they hated him now, it wasn't acceptable for the first born son of Harry Potter to be gay. It would be fine for Albus or Lily but not him. He was the eldest, he was the one supposed to carry on the bloodline. Maybe that was even why Albus had gotten given the Invisibility Cloak and not him, deep down maybe his dad had known all along and that was why he didn't want to be around him. Carver was the only one of his friends who knew so he couldn't talk about it while they were in the compartment or in the carriages, he just sat in brooding silence as he felt his anger built. It wasn't fair. Why did everything have to go wrong for him? What had he done to deserve this? Was he not a good person?

On the way to the Great Hall, he noticed someone. That Slytherin brat, the cocky, stuck-up, little git who thought he was better than everyone else. Just sauntering along like he owned the place, like he belonged there just because he was straight and James wasn't. The boy had a perfect life, his dad loved him, his dad spent time with him, his dad wasn't ashamed of him, he didn't have to worry about his dad being killed in the war. He'd show that little bastard how to have a good life when James' sucked, the boy deserved to suffer much more than he did. He slipped out his wand and went over to the much shorter boy, he was only like twelve or something. James put his arm around him and aimed his wand at the brat's neck, the arrogance in his eyes wavered.

"Come with me or I'll jinx you," James hissed and the boy nodded meekly as James led him into an unused classroom nearby.

"Please, don't hurt me," the boy whimpered pathetically as James closed the door, the boy fumbled for his wand but James was faster. Plus he already had his in his hand.

He disarmed the boy and removed the two prosthetic legs he had to stop him trying to get away, the boy was crying before James landed his first punch like the pathetic animal- no. Animal was too good for a Slytherin, _thing_. Like the pathetic _thing_ he was. He wasn't a person, he was a thing. He wasn't even hurting a person so why should anyone be mad at him? James straddled him and hammered his fists against the smaller boy over and over, the boy just kept trying to protect his face while James pummeled out his rage until his hands started to feel sore. James stood but he still didn't feel any better, it didn't make his dad love him, it didn't make him like women.

He gave a cry of rage and lashed out with his foot again, kicking the boy where guys don't want to be kicked. The boy clutched his privates in pain, which left his face unprotected. James launched another kick, this time at the boy's face and heard a crunch as foot struck nose. James smirked, liking the sound of the crunch and the crimson that sprouted from it. It showed the boy was suffering, which was what he wanted. He kicked him a few more times before dragging the battered lump in the corner furthest from the door, putting the boy's wand in the furthest corner from that and a leg in the other two.

James flicked his wand again, sending the stacked desks and chairs crashing down on the boy before leaving. He locked the door behind him and went to wash his hands, feeling somewhat better about himself. He then returned to the Great Hall, having missed the boring Sorting and could dive right in to the delicious meal. He was in a much better mood, laughing and joking with his friends as normal. Except Carver, who seemed oddly quiet. Carver was muscular, strong, handsome, he had a perfect voice that James could listen to for hours. He decided he'd wait until they were back in the dormitory with more privacy before asking what was wrong, it might be something personal. His worry for his friend ebbed away his good mood, his dampening cheer allowing his previous concerns to resurface. He wanted to hit someone again by the time they were back in Gryffindor Tower.

"Where is he, James?" Carver asked him the second they were alone while their other dorm mates were in the bathroom.

"What?" James wondered in confusion.

"Byron Knight, your favorite punching bag. He never hobbled back into the Great Hall."

"Maybe he crawled back to the Slytherin hole in the dungeon where he belongs?"

"Without the password?"

"He's in some classroom near the Great Hall. What does it matter?" James asked while Carver took off immediately, "Where are you going?!"

"To make sure he's alright!" Carver called back.

James scowled, worried that Carver could get caught from being out after curfew. And for what? Something inhuman? Something his dad had fought two wars to stop? He closed Carver's drapes to cover for him and got ready for bed himself, lying there later listening to the others snore and wondering whether he should go after Carver. Or whether Carver had been caught already. He was starting to feel incredibly anxious and was relieved when Carver did finally return.

"Why did you leave?" James demanded of him, "You could've gotten in trouble!"

"It's a good thing I did go," Caver insisted, looking almost annoyed with him, "You crushed him with desks, I think some of his ribs were broken because he could barely breathe."

"Brat deserved it," James shrugged it off uncaring, he hoped it had hurt him to barely breathe, "What did you do?"

"I took him to the Hospital Wing," Carver recounted and James started to scowl at the thought of being ratted out, "Don't worry, I just left him outside the door. I knocked so Marigold would come investigate and then ran so it wouldn't be traced back to either of us. Unless Byron talks anyway."

"He won't if he knows what's good for him," James snapped darkly and rolled onto his side.

The brat would pay for making his best friend risk getting in trouble. That had clearly been the Slytherin's plan all along after all, deliberately make James mad so that he'd beat him bad enough for Carver to be concerned. Then Carver would get caught and be stuck in detentions instead of being able to hang out with him and the others. It was a diabolical scheme to say the least, the Slytherin manipulation knew no bounds but James was smart enough to figure it out. James would make him pay for that, how dare he plan to get his friend in trouble.

* * *

**Part 2: **To Hogwarts and Rutherford

* * *

It wasn't the most pleasant journey back to Hogwarts in recent memory with Molly, Michael, Abby and Latimer being in the prefect's compartment. Vern sat with Olivia and her friends in a different compartment, Corin buried his head in a book about early preparation for OWLs despite being a year away, Maurice wouldn't stop talking about how amazing Lenore was, Rose wouldn't stop talking about how unfair it was that Abby had gotten prefect instead of her, Albus wouldn't stop glaring at Orous. As he and Orous were more soft spoken of the group, any attempt at alternate conversation were quickly overridden by the louder Rose and Maurice. Scorpius almost resigned himself to reading his parents' stupid career book.

Once the train pulled up, they headed out and where quickly soaked by the lashing rain. Professor Hagrid's booming voice managed to trump the downpour, he pitied the poor little First Years who'd be drowned by the time they reached the castle. Thankfully the carriages were now hooded, the coverings preventing them from becoming drenched further. He got a carriage with Molly as planned along with Michael and Orous. Albus, Abby, Latimer and Corin - Scorpius suspected he was sick of Rose and Maurice talking - got a second while Rose, Maurice, Olivia and Vern got a third. That was more pleasant, he got to get a word in at least and talk about some of the things - not Shadow related, he'd rather tell them that together - he'd seen in Egypt, Orous talked about how they'd moved house over the summer and Molly about how her dad had been constantly on at her about NEWTs and careers all summer. They arrived before Michael could say much about his beyond how Jack had been helping out Crystal with his younger siblings, Michael had a strange habit of referring to his parents by first name. Although he was still getting used to Michael being taller than him now.

As much as Scorpius did still think he could help the war more outside of Hogwarts, it felt good to be able to walk the familiar stone halls again. Vern and Orous went over to the Hufflepuff table while the rest of them joined the Gryffindor one, they sat on the end closest to the staff table due to Maurice's deafness and need to be near the front to translate. His eyes drifted to the staff table where he saw familiar faces, both welcome and unwelcome. In fact, there only seemed to be one staff change. Professors Ashain, Longbottom, Koray, Vipera, Kresmir and Elina were all there who he liked well enough, he also had no issue with Oring or Krum but he wasn't in their classes and Marigold the Head Healer too. Professor Ashain's children, Antonius and Cassia, were also there and gave him a wave as he was on friendly terms with both. Grant was unfortunately still there, as was Midas and Rivers - whom he was glad to not have classes with - along with the young and somewhat moronic Headmaster, Silvanus Elwood. Which left just one person unaccounted for, a strong looking man whose robes seemed too tight because of it. He had very short, scruffy dark hair, a square jaw buried in stubble and dark eyes that seemed to emanate rage. He looked vaguely familiar though, Scorpius thought he may have been one of the counsellors from last year, the one he'd seen threatening Leebin. That couldn't be a good sign.

Professor Hagrid returned momentarily, carefully avoiding the three legged stool with the old Sorting Hat up at the front. Which was torn, tattered, battered, scorched, singed, and he doubted the recent taking of it out after the Scepter at the end of the previous year had helped its health any. The new First Years came in a few minutes later, led by none other than his cousin, Marius Calderon. Calderon - or Tommy Lestrange before he'd changed it to hide his parentage - was the son of his Great Aunt, Bellatrix Lestrange, and they'd been through a lot together. The tall, lanky assistant lived and worked at Hogwarts helping out the Headmaster and other staff, he was somewhat eccentric to say the least but a good person and could do incredible feats with wandless magic which came in handy. He always dressed like a muggle and today worse his common attire of thin sweater, jeans and sneakers along with a silver dragon necklace that Scorpius had given him as a gift, in turn he'd given Scorpius the silver thestral ring he always wore. Calderon was incredibly pale but considered handsome nonetheless even if he was in his later thirties now, his short hair was neat and black like his eyes. He led the First Years up to the front cheerfully with sparks of light shooting up around his feet as he walked, Calderon's uneasy control of magic meant he tended to have lights around him.

_"I know I don't look pretty_

_Time has worn me down_

_But make no mistake, my friends_

_I'm still the smartest hat in town_

_For I can see inside your mind_

_Deep down there in your heart_

_See you for what you truly are_

_Know where you should start_

_Perhaps Gryffindor is for you_

_Where courage finds its mark_

_Those with bold and daring_

_As others would remark_

_Or maybe Slytherin is your place_

_For those with ambition and guile_

_If cunning is in your mind_

_You might fit in with this pile_

_Or Ravenclaw could be yours_

_If all you want to is learn_

_Those with wit and wisdom_

_If knowledge is what you yearn_

_Or none of those you think is you_

_Maybe Hufflepuff is your home_

_The fairest out of all the four_

_Where loyalty and kindness roam_

_Its dark times we live in now_

_Regardless of where you'll be_

_Remember we all still are one_

_What the future holds... Wait and see_."

The hall burst into applause while the First Years looked around in confusion, uncertain whether they should be clapping or not. He noticed that the newcomer didn't applaud, his expression was set somewhere between boredom and a scowl as if the song had offended him.

"When I call out your name, come forward and sit on this stool. I will then place the Sorting Hat on your head and it will decide your house, go towards the applauding house and join your new housemates," Calderon said to the First Years, speaking slower than usual as Elwood made him and saying the words he was told to.

Scorpius glanced to the Headmaster as Calderon called the first name he didn't recognize, Elwood was rather young to be in the Headmaster's chair. His hair was bouncy, bright, blond curls but part of his face was severely scarred by some kind of burn from a previous attack. It cut through his eye and widened on his cheek and carried down onto his neck, the scarred eyelid was drooped making it permanently semi-closed and hard to see but the good eye was a blue so dark it was almost navy, the good side of his face had dimples. Despite his injuries, Elwood usually looked quite cheerful but not today. He just seemed unhappy. He rested his face on his hands and watched the Sorting with an expression more befitting of a funeral.

"What's the bets that's Calderon's going to forget the names and have to check a list?" Albus offered to no one in particular, "He can't remember them all again, that's hundreds of names already. I say, this is the year he'll forget."

"I'll take that bet, Al," Latimer agreed, "Two Sickles say that Calderon remembers."

"Deal!"

Scorpius went back to watching the Sorting, Calderon would call a name and the child would run forwards so he'd magically raise the hat then lower it back onto their head until a house was called. The hat would magically be lifted and the child would run to the applauding table, Scorpius just had to listen for the Gryffindors and clap for them. It was a sea of faces he didn't recognize and for a long time he thought that there wouldn't even be any family names he recognized, it wasn't until the N's that he heard a name he knew vaguely.

"Nott, Aloysius!" Calderon called and Vern's girlfriend's younger brother stepped forward with confidence, he had the same dark brown hair and sapphire eyes as his siblings but he had rosy, chubby cheeks.

"_SLYTHERIN!_" the hat decided quite quickly and the boy happily ran off to join his siblings in Slytherin. It wasn't long after that another semi-familiar name was called.

"Ollivander, Gaston!"

A boy buried in scraggly brown hair stepped forward shakily, almost fearfully. His hair was so long it covered most of his face but he could see scared slivers of silvery eyes peeking though, much like the other wandmakers in the family. His bony fingers drummed the side of the stool and from the bits of his mouth he could see through the strands of hair, he was biting his lip.

"_RAVENCLAW!"_

Gaston quickly scurried over to the Ravenclaw table and the Sorting returned to a string of names that Scorpius didn't recognize until finally, Ryker Zylan joined Gryffindor and the ceremony ended. Albus heaved a sigh and handed over the sickles to Latimer, having lost the bet on Calderon not remembering all the names. Calderon took the hat and stool out the side door near the staff table, when he returned he folded his arms and leaned against the wall in wait. Elwood stood and cleared his throat nervously while Calderon was doing that, he made an attempt at a smile but it failed.

"For new students, welcome to Hogwarts! And for old students, welcome back!" Elwood greeted them, his attempt to sound welcoming did do better than his attempt at a smile. He paused briefly to glance at the door as if expecting an attack, it had happened before but not this time, "I'm sure we're all hungry and eager for the feast so I'll keep this short. The Forbidden Forest is off-limits to all students, this is for your own safety so do well to remember that. Quidditch tryouts will be held the second week of term, it's the responsibility of Quidditch Captains to consult the Flying Instructor to arrange them and put up a notice in your house Common Room for those who want to try out. And finally, in light of the Shadow War the Ministry thinks that the safety of the next generation of magical minds takes priority. They have err... kindly sent an attaché, Mr Gerhard Rutherford, to ensure high standards of safety are kept here in Hogwarts. That's all so-"

"Thank you for the introduction," a voice interjected and Elwood gaped in surprise as Gerhard Rutherford - Scorpius could only assume it was him, it was the same counsellor who'd threatened Leebin last year - stood, Elwood closed his mouth promptly but uncertainly as if he hadn't expected Rutherford to speak. The man strode around the table so he was in front of the staff table and idly rubbed his hands together, Elwood only looked more unsure and seemed to hover between deciding whether he should sit or stand, "As your current Headmaster said, I am Gerhard Rutherford the attaché from the Ministry responsible for your safety during your education here and I have the power to change whatever I see fit in order to ensure your continued safety.

"First and foremost, this seating arrangement is... just awful. There's older students mixed with younger students and younger students mixed with older students, it would be difficult to tell if anyone was missing with everyone mixed up like that. As of tomorrow morning, there will be a strict seating arrangement. When you come for breakfast, each place shall be named and that will be your seat for the entire year. This is for your own safety, to not comply will result in detention," Rutherford continued as he paced at the front, pausing suddenly and snapping his fingers at Calderon like he was some sort of dog, even Calderon blinked in surprise, "Assistant, I'll give you more details on that and I except that worked out by tomorrow morning."

"Alright. Thanks for that, Mr Rutherford," Elwood spoke up, "Now let's begin the-"

"I wasn't done!" Rutherford barked and threw a murderous look back at the headmaster. Elwood immediately plonked himself down unhappily, burying his face in his hands before the attaché turned back to them, "The seating arrangement is for your own safety and failure to comply will count as a minor offense. The system of punishment is being overhauled to make it more clear to both students and staff what constitutes as acceptable behavior, misbehavior is now divided into two categories: major and minor depending on the severity of your crime. Three minor offenses is the equivalent of a major offense, three major offenses or nine minor will result in suspension. Whether the suspension is temporary or a permanent expulsion, depends entirely on the individual's situation and record.

"For those interested in what constitutes a major or minor offense, a list of guidelines will be put on the notice board in all Common Rooms by tomorrow. Assistant-" Rutherford paused to snap his fingers at Calderon once again, Scorpius hated him already, "- I will give you the guidelines, I want them put up by the morning. All prefects are required to come to a mandatory meeting here at three o'clock sharp tomorrow to discuss the guidelines and your role in enforcing them, failure to attend proves you're unworthy to be prefect and will be stripped of your badge in favor of a more deserving student. All students are also forbidden from using magic in the corridors, staircases, Great Hall, Hospital Wing or Library. For your benefit, at the end of every term your teachers will provide a grade level you're working at and an effort level you're working at. This is to get a better sense of how you're doing, low grades and lack of effort can be a sign of turmoil, possibly something threatening your safety so we need to know to rectify it.

"And I think that is all for the moment," Rutherford finally concluded and cast them a smile that clashed with the coldness of his eyes, making it look very ominous and twisted before he made his way back to his seat, "I hope we have a pleasant year. And back to you, Headmaster."

"Now you can eat," Elwood offered as he freed his face from his hands quickly.

Elwood gestured vaguely to Calderon as he sighed, Calderon clapped and the tables were immediately filled with food and the delicious smell. Calderon left just after and he noticed Elwood shove his plate away and slip out while the rest of the hall burst into conversation, no one being particularly in favor of the new rules. Especially the one in regards to seating arrangements.

"Scor, could you please ask Abigaia to pass me the apple sauce?" Rose asked him stiffly, drawing his attention away from the staff table.

"She's right there," Scorpius pointed out in exasperation, "She's within earshot."

"Scorpius, I'm not speaking to Abigaia. So you could please ask her to pass me the apple sauce?"

"Abby, can you do that?" Scorpius asked of her, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

"Do what? I didn't hear anything," Abby told him and he did roll his eyes then.

"Rose would you like you to pass the apple sauce."

"Ah, well please tell Miss Weasley that if she wants the apple sauce then maybe she should work harder to reach it instead of getting mad that someone else happened to be close to it."

"Abby, don't be like this too. Be rational."

"I am being rational, I'm not the one who thinks making prefect is more important than friendship. I wouldn't hate my friends for making prefect."

"You're not my friend anymore!" Rose snapped at her venomously.

"I see your hearing has returned," Latimer quipped sarcastically but Rose continued as if he hadn't spoken.

"You knew that was mine and you took it from me!"

"I was chosen!" Abby protested.

"You could have turned it down!"

"Why should I turn it down?!"

"Because you were supposed to be my friend!"

"I'm supposed to turn down something good happening to me just because you wanted it?" Abby wondered in confusion.

"Yes!"

"Rose, don- Ow!" Scorpius started to say but was cut off by a violent kick to his shins from Albus, "What was that for?!"

"You don't want to get in the way of women when they're fighting," Albus pointed out.

"We're not fighting! We're not even talking! We're done!" Rose insisted and flicked her hair back over her shoulder, "I just need someone to pass me the apple sauce!"

"Oh sure, Rose, you should have said," Abby said and picked the small container up as if to hand it to her before emptying the entire contents onto Rose's plate to drown the whole plate, she then handed the container to a fuming Rose, "There you go."

"How mature of you, _prefect_," Rose sneered darkly, "But you know, at least my hair isn't ugly. You look stupid with that style at that short length."

"Well, when you're being tortured by Shadows then maybe you can remember to tell them to not cut your hair off," Abby said much more quietly and her eyes flickered with pain at the memory while Maurice's face lit up like it was Christmas.

"What spells or potions or items did they torture you with? What techniques did they use? Was the purpose punishment or for information? Was it a solo or group?" Maurice questioned immediately brightly before scowling and his body jerked slightly, "Ow! Albus, did you just kick me?"

"You can't ask things like that!" Albus hissed while Abby picked at her plate unhappily, "Don't be so insensitive!"

"I was being sensitive," Maurice insisted, sounding somehow genuine, "That's why I waited a few months. So Ab-"

"Why don't you tell me about Lenore again?" Albus blurted out to cut him off asking Abby again, a fake smile plastered onto his face, "I so enjoy hearing about her."

"Oh, sure," Maurice grinned, "I can give you advice on how to snog a girl, I'm a master of making out now."

"Maurice, you've snogged her once and it was for like five minutes!" Corin protested and Maurice looked slightly puzzled.

"Five minutes? It felt like five hours, I knew it wasn't that long but I still thought it was a more substantial length of time. Interesting."

"Why do you have to make everything sound weird?" Albus complained.

"Why do you have to keep talking about that stupid Slytherin slut?!" Rose snapped even louder and Maurice's eyes darkened at the insult to Lenore before his lips curled into a cold smirk.

"Well you may think that but at least she could make prefect," Maurice commented acidly and Rose responded by throwing her plate at him, showering him in the overflowing apple sauce.

"Asshole!" Rose yelled at him before storming off.

"Good to be back," Scorpius grumbled under his breath.

The rest of the meal passed uneventfully but somewhat awkwardly, he was glad when they were finished and could go. Scorpius didn't even know why Rose was so upset, he wasn't mad that Michael got over prefect over him and was happy for his friend. In fact, seeing Michael's easy smile and the kind welcoming way he spoke to the First Years, Scorpius wasn't even surprised he hadn't got it. Sure, Scorpius' grades were better but Michael was responsible and better with people, Scorpius wouldn't know what to say to the First Years and he probably wouldn't even have remembered to smile.

He didn't sleep when he got back to their dormitory though, for the first time in months he was able to use magic freely which meant he could practice for becoming an animagus. Michael's transformations were difficult for him to the point he accidentally hurting himself during it and he wasn't allowed to be around him despite Michael talking Wolfsbane - which was provided free to all werewolves by the Ministry as part of Lupin's Law - but animals could be around him safely. Lupin's friends had become animagi to be with him to make his transformations easier for him, Scorpius had been determined to do the same for Michael since learning about it. Wyatt had told him how, it just took time and practice. And it was something that took a long time to even start to show progress. Still, he would keep trying. He drew the drapes shut around his bed and cast the first spell, _Facila_, which caused a spark of white light and the feeling of being rained on overcame him. The second spell was _Fianima_, he felt a slight pressure to indicate it had worked and the rest was simply sitting there and willing yourself to change. Sometimes he felt tingly sensations but otherwise, there was no progress. You just had to keep practicing over a long period of time and eventually you'd start to get results. Eventually.

It was almost relaxing really, got his mind off the stressful things in his life. Which, were most things in his life actually. He crawled under the covers much later then everyone else and fell back into an easy sleep, he thought using his magical muscles also tired him out more so he could sleep easier. He woke the next day and dressed into normal clothes as it was a Saturday, including his leather jacket which was his favorite item of clothing. He pulled back the drapes and jolted in surprise at seeing the now tall Michael, he was still getting used to that. He pulled them back on the other side and jolted in worse shock at Albus in his underwear.

"Geez, Al! Put on some clothes!" Scorpius complained at him as he looked away.

"Oh good, you're up!" Albus exclaimed, sounding relieved, "I wanted to ask you guys something, really,_ really_ important."

"Sure," Michael agreed, coming over to them.

"Okay, so do I look fat to you?"

"I thought you said this was important?!" Scorpius burst out.

"It's important to me!" Albus protested, "If I'm fat then no girl will want to go out with me!"

"Your love life and weight isn't important!"

"It is to _me_. You already aren't fat and you have a girlfriend so you don't understand but this is really important to me, everyone has or has had a girlfriend but me. I'm almost sixteen years old and the son of Harry Potter, it's humiliating," Albus continued and sighed heavily, "So tell me,_ do_ I look fat? I've been really trying."

"I never thought you were fat in the first place," Michael pointed out and Albus let out a breath of relief.

"Neither did I, so can we go to breakfast now?" Scorpius wondered of them, his irritation at the pointlessness of Albus' worry coming through more then he'd meant.

"Someone's cranky today," Albus commented before he got dressed while he and Michael waited.

After Albus was ready, they headed down for breakfast. They had to wait for the staircase instead of just walking down easily in true Hogwarts. They were just nearing the doors to the Great Hall when he noticed the two familiar faces of Professor Ashain's children, Antonius and Cassia. Antonius was the eldest, having turned nine over the summer while Cassia was seven. Like their father, they both had dark chestnut eyes but only Antonius had the same extremely dark auburn hair like every Ashain he knew except Cassia. Cassia's hair looked rather like someone had dumped a pile of straw on it, both in texture and color. Usually it did anyway, the almost shoulder-length hair was a light blue right now for some reason.

"Hey guys!" Cassia exclaimed excitedly as she saw them, racing over and throwing her small arms out to try hug all three of them at once, "I missed you so much! You got tall, Michael!"

"I missed you too," Albus offered while scowling deeply as she pulled away, Antonius walked over much more calmly with his huge, hulking, hairball of a dog and held up a hand in greeting to go with his smile while Albus scratched his head, "But err... what... what happened to your hair?"

"Daddy let me charm it blue! Isn't it cool?"

"Very cool," Michael told her kindly which only widened her toothy grin, she wasn't fond of her hair because it was like her mother's. Clearly, she hadn't gotten over that yet.

"And very blue," Scorpius added.

"Much better than the time you poured ink over it," Albus agreed with a nod.

"I think it looks better than that but I do think that black hair would be cool," Cassia pointed out while Albus raised an eyebrow.

"And since when did you speak proper?"

"People grow up, Albie," Cassia stated with the utmost seriousness in her tone.

"Yeah, _Albie_," an unwelcome voice mocked and Scorpius threw a glare at James but James was pushed out of the way by a scrawny First Year with mousy hair, the boy made a beeline for Albus.

"Hello!" the boy greeted him, grinned from ear to ear before erupting into rapid speech, "I saw you yesterday at the feast. And on the platform. And on the train. And on the other platform. You're Harry Potter's son, aren't you?! You look just like him!"

"Err... Yes, yes I am," Albus admitted uncertainly while James scowled deeply, "Albus Severus Potter."

"I'm Colin Creevey!" the boy informed them with a squeal of delight while pulling out a photograph, of Harry Potter no less, "My Dad knows your Dad and my uncle who I was named after died in the Second Wizarding War and he also knows your Dad, they were friends. I just wondered if I could get your autograph since you're the son of the greatest wizard in the world. And your Dad's would be great. And your Mum's. But that's just because I love the Holyhead Harpies."

"Sure," Albus agreed and took the photo from the boy, Colin immediately plunged his hands into his pockets to withdraw a quill and vial of ink.

"Hey!" James barked and stalked over angrily, "You know I'm Harry Potter's son too! I'm the eldest! I'm the first born!"

"Oh, sorry, I didn't recognize you. Your brother looks much more like your Dad then you do," Colin apologized while James' eyes burned with rage which Colin was oblivious too as he started grinning again while Albus awkwardly started trying to autograph the photo with nothing to lean on, "Can I have your autograph too? Your Dad is the greatest wizard in the world."

"My Daddy is the greatest wizard in the world," Cassia scoffed which earned her a venomous look from James, "Even better then Harry Potter."

"HOW DARE YOU?!" James spat at her darkly, his eyes glittering with murderous rage while others around stopped to see what was happening, "My Dad is Harry Potter, Ashain is no one! My Dad defeated Voldemort!"

"My Daddy defeated lots of Dark Wizards when he was an Auror. He's just more modester, which makes him even better because bragging is bad."

"My Dad doesn't brag, he just _is_ heroic and everyone worships him because his deeds were that great."

"What great deeds?" Cassia demanded and crossed her arms determinedly, James looked incredulous.

"Oh, I don't know... KILLING THE DARKEST AND MOST EVIL WIZARD OF ALL TIME!" James screamed at her but Cassia remained entirely unfazed, movement seemed to slow to a halt at this to see what was happening. Cassia frowned.

"What? Harry Potter hasn't killed the Shadow Master."

"I don't mean the Shadow Master! I mean Voldemort!"

"You think Voldemort was is worse than the Shadow Master?" Cassia wondered and snorted in disbelief, "Yeah right. And if Voldemort is worse than the Shadow Master then why hasn't Harry Potter beat him yet?"

"Yeah, why hasn't he?" a random person from the crowd called out and James swiveled his head furiously as a muttering erupted from the crowd.

"He hasn't beaten him yet because the Shadow Master is a coward!" James yelled at her, "He hides in the Shadows instead of stepping forward to fight like a man! Even Voldemort had the balls to do that but his son hides like the pathetic weakling he is because he knows Harry Potter would slaughter him!"

"Or he just doesn't think Harry Potter is worth killing," Cassia pointed out casually.

"He doesn't think the man who killed his Father is worth killing?! Of course he wants my Dad dead! My Dad is the Chosen One! The one destined to defeat Voldemort and he did!"

"It's easy to do something that is prohofmenorized acause it's supposed to happen, its much braver to fight when you aren't special and don't already know the outcome."

"You're just a pathetic, insolent little brat who doesn't understand anything! He knows my Dad is the Greatest Wizard in the world! My Dad, who killed his father and defeated him on multiple occasions while he was still a child! How many Dark Wizards have you killed, huh?!"

"At least five," Cassia told him and James jolted in surprise.

"LIAR!"

"She's telling the truth, she had birds slaughtering the enemy," Albus offered helpfully and James flashed his brother a dark look before turning back to the girl.

"Well my Dad survived the Killing Curse, _twice_. He's special and everyone who is smarter than an idiotic child can see that," James spat and Cassia smirked.

"My brother survived the Killing Curse, it's not that special," Cassia announced casually and an even louder wave of whispers swept the ever-growing crowd.

"LIAR!" James screamed again.

"Cassia, shut up!" Antonius hissed at his sister.

"She's not lying, it's true. I saw it," Scorpius spoke up without thinking and James threw him a murderous look, Antonius just looked desperate.

"Scorpius, shut up!"

"Liar!" James repeated his seemingly new favorite word, "You honestly expect me to believe a slimy piece of scum like you?"

"For once you're right," Antonius lied immediately, "They're making it up. I didn't get hit by a Killing Curse. My sister likes to exaggerate and Scorpius likes to be nice to us."

"We have prove," Cassia announced, "My brother has a lightning bolt scar just like Harry Potter's. Except it's bigger. Bigger is better."

"No, I don't! Shut up all of you!"

"I don't see a scar," James spat, eying Antonius' face.

"Because there's none."

"It's on his chest, silly, under his shirt," Cassia pointed out before turning to her brother, "Show them."

"No! There's nothing to show because there is no scar," Antonius insisted stubbornly and folded his arms tightly across his chest as if afraid she might try yank it up anyway.

"Show us this great scar then," James sneered disbelievingly and Antonius looked exasperated.

"Is no one listening to me?!"

"Yeah, show us this alleged scar!" someone else called out.

"Yeah, prove it!" called another.

"Put your money where your mouth is!"

"Prove Potter wrong!"

"You're scared because you know you're a liar!"

"Lift up your damn shirt or I'll lift it myself!" James spat and Antonius took a step back.

"I want an adult!" Antonius yelled to no one in particular.

Scorpius didn't see who fired the spell nor did he hear an incantation if it hadn't been non-verbal at all but the jet of light struck Antonius, the boy was knocked back and his buttoned red shirt was immediately undone. Revealing the angry, fresh lightning bolt burned into his flesh over his heart for all to see. James' jaw dropped and the crowd erupted into all out noise, Antonius closed his shirt immediately and started fumbling to button it back up while looking on the verge of tears. James' shock slowly turned to anger, his fists clenched and he started trembling with barely controlled rage.

"HOW DARE YOU TRY TO DIMINISH MY FATHER'S GREATNESS WITH YOUR TACKY IMITATION!?" James screamed.

Everything happened at once. James threw a punch at Antonius. The dog leaped up to defend its master. Scorpius drew his wand and cast a stunner. James' punch landed first, clobbering the child and throwing him against the wall from the force of the fist smashing into his small face. The dog's bite landed second, sharp white teeth chomping down on pink flesh and causing crimson to bubble out. Scorpius' spell landed last, colliding with James and throwing the unconscious boy back through the crowd to thud to the ground. The dog continued to bark viciously at James' unmoving body while Scorpius went to help Antonius up like Michael and Cassia were doing, he was blinking rapidly as his eye was already red and starting to swell.

"What in the hell is going on here?!" a voice demanded and Scorpius looked back up to see a tall figure parting the crowd, Gerhard Rutherford. He paused and looked around as if to survey the scene, the students continuing moving back to leave James in a clearing along with Scorpius, Albus, Michael, Colin, the Ashain kids and the dog who stopped barking but stood in front of Antonius protectively regardless. The man strode forward and flicked his wand at James, immediately reviving him.

"My hand!" James howled in pain and clutched his bloody hand as he got up, "That beast bit my hand!"

"What do you expect? You punched its owner in the face," Scorpius protested and gestured to Antonius' wound, "It was just defending him."

"He had it coming for trying to diminish my Father's heroics! And you stunned me, you son of a bitch!"

"Is that what happened?" Rutherford wondered and James seemed to notice him for the first time, "You punched the child, his dog attacked you in defense and the boy stunned you also in defense?"

"I'm Harry Potter's son!" James blurted out as if it was the most important thing in the world, "That Malfoy psycho attacked me, I demand you expel him along with Ashain's brats and execute that damned mutt!"

"What?! He attacked a little kid, we were just acting in defense!" Scorpius protested, "If anyone should be expelled then it's him!"

"I've heard enough," Rutherford insisted as he held up his hand as if to silence them, "Atticus Ashain's children are not yet Hogwarts students therefore not my responsibility, I have no power to punish or expel them or their pets from these grounds so whatever issues you have them do not matter. That is solely at the discretion of their parent and guardian."

"That's a load of-" James started to say but was interrupted, Scorpius was rather glad Rutherford had no power over them.

"I said I'd heard enough, Mr Potter. It also means that I have no obligation or reason to punish you for harming one of them."

"And quite rightly too!" James scoffed with an air of arrogance that caused Rutherford's eyes to dart back to him while Scorpius scowled, angered James wouldn't be punished for hurting a nine year old. Did just no one care what happened to nine year old wizards?

"When do you come of age, Mr Potter?" Rutherford asked of him curiously and James looked slightly surprised for a minute before recovering.

"December," James told him and Rutherford gave something resembling a smile that wiped James of him.

"I may have no right to do anything now but you should be aware that coming of age changes things, you'll be an adult and things that slide for children won't for adults. It's a crime for an adult to physically assault a child like you did, you probably wouldn't get severe punishment for a single punch but someone would still be well within their rights to arrest you. Someone such as the boy's father, Atticus Ashain and Neville Longbottom have both been technically reinstated as Aurors after all. If the assault was more than a punch then you'd be in more severe trouble, especially as he's not even of Hogwarts age and defenseless. You might do well to bear that in mind," Rutherford informed James and paced over to him, taking James' injured hand to inspect it. James cringed as it apparently aggravated the wound but Rutherford seemed to be looking at something else, "Interesting, I've never seen someone with such badly grazed knuckles from a single punch."

"I... I have sensitive skin."

"You wouldn't have anything to do with the attack on Byron Knight last night, would you?" Ruther asked him calmly, meeting James' eyes, "Someone beat the Second Year Slytherin half to death, it was a brutal assault."

"No, Sir," James said rather quietly while Rutherford held his gaze, "I wouldn't know anything about that. Who attacks a Second Year the first day back?"

"Hmm... Very well," Rutherford mused and abruptly let go of James' hand, James cringed again at the pain. The attaché's eyes darted to James' other hand and Scorpius looked too, seeing on both hands the knuckles were grazed. Scorpius would bet that James had attacked that poor kid after all and he was near certain that Rutherford knew it too, even if he couldn't prove it. Scorpius was just starting to wonder whether he was really so bad after all when the attaché turned to Scorpius, "Now you on the other hand, Mr Malfoy, you deliberately broke the rule I just gave last night about not using magic in the corridors _and_ assaulted a fellow student."

"It was in defense!" Scorpius protested and Rutherford gave him the psychotic semblance he had for a smile instead.

"I really don't care. If something happens then you get an adult, you do not under any circumstance take matters into your own hands. You also have no obligation or reason to defend non-students anyway. This is going down as a major offense, fifty points from Gryffindor and you will be receiving detention from me," Rutherford informed him as he rubbed his hands off each other again, losing his smile, "You haven't even been here a day and already stirring up trouble? It does not bode well for your future, Mr Malfoy, your OWL year is especially important so wasting time not on that makes your future even more grim."

"That's not fair," Cassia spoke up but Rutherford ignored her completely.

"Two altercations before even breakfast on the first day... It just goes to show that Hogwarts is in more need of change then I thought."

* * *

**Part 3:** Different

* * *

"Asshole," Scorpius spat as Rutherford stalked into the Great Hall.

This seemed to put the crowd back into motion, the flurry of footsteps murmuring amongst themselves as they shuffled past them into the Great Hall. James headed off to the Hospital Wing for his hand while Albus and Cassia glared between his brother and Rutherford, Antonius brushed off Michael's offer to heal him. Colin Creevey grinned brightly however, snatching the photograph, quill and ink from Albus' hands to shove at Antonius instead.

"Can I have your autograph?" Colin asked of Antonius, the younger boy scowling in confusion and making no move to take the things from him.

"I'm nine, I don't have an autograph," Antonius pointed out.

"It's easy, you just write your name. You are old enough to do that, right?"

"Yes."

"Hey, what happened to wanting my autograph?" Albus complained as he snapped out of glaring.

"I still want it," Colin protested, "I just want his first, he survived an actual Killing Curse and has an actual scar just like Harry Potter! He's even more like him then you are. Is he Harry Potter's son too?"

"No, I'm not! And you can't have my autograph!" Antonius snapped at him before stalking off himself with his dog to presumably find his dad, Cassia scampered after them.

"You can't have mine either," Albus added as he, Scorpius and Michael left Colin to head into the Great Hall, "Can you believe that kid? Do you really think Antonius is more like my Dad then I am? Can you believe that guy as well? You get in trouble for defending Antonius and James gets nothing? And can you believe James? Punching a child half his age? What kind of person hits a little kid?"

"Aside from my stepdad?" Michael wondered dryly and Albus' expression flickered from anger to sympathy while Michael frowned, "Oh yeah, I completely forgot about the seating arrangements."

The trio came to a halt and Scorpius noticed that instead of simply sitting wherever they wanted with friends as usual, students were looking at little name cards wedged in napkins on their plates. They seemed to be arranged by year from what he saw, except for Maurice at the far end amongst the sea of Gryffindor First Years. It also seemed to be arranged by gender, there were only boys on the left and only girls on the right. They set about finding their names and saw they were arranged alphabetically by last name, splitting them all up. Scorpius had to sit in between one of the roommates he barely interacted with, Angelo Jordan, and nervous blond boy he didn't know at all, although he did have Abby opposite him. There were six girls in between Abby and Rose - although considering the current state of their friendship, he didn't think that was such a bad thing - and two boys between Scorpius and Albus, one between Albus and Michael so Rose was diagonal to Rose. Rose was also unfortunate enough to have to sit opposite her ex-boyfriend, Reuben Tear, the other of the roommates he barely knew. And those were the friends closest to him, he had no shot of seeing those in different years.

This would also make it harder to get his friends to come to the Room That Doesn't Exist - also known as the Room of Requirement - to fill them in on the woman in Athens. He'd have to catch them all separately now on their way out as Abby was the only one within speaking range, he should've told Albus and Michael before he sat down. The thing with James and Rutherford had thrown him though, it wasn't fair he got in trouble for stunning in self-defense. They should just be glad _stupefy_ rather than _acuta_ had come to mind first considering he'd ended up scarring his best friend the last time he'd cast that spell within the school walls. And even worse was that James went unpunished, Scorpius could accept being punished if at least some sense of justice prevailed. He hoped James' bite hurt. A lot. Bastard.

"So... How was your summer?" Scorpius asked uncertainly of Abby, he didn't often speak to her alone. Although he supposed that would be changing now.

"Alright, I guess," Abby shrugged unhappily, she looked oddly tired as if she hadn't slept, "August and I were just helping out Mum with the Leaky Cauldron as usual, the entrance to Diagon Alley is a checkpoint now and everyone going through has to be searched and questioned by Aurors so Dad did security like that. People are crazy rowdy since the reveal of Voldemort's son being behind it all. August's taking all five optional subjects this year and Mum tried to get my sister, Heather, to come home to surprise my Dad on his birthday but she couldn't with the magical inter-continental ban. That's pretty much everything."

"What work does your sister do again?"

"She erm... well... I don't know actually, she's kind of vague about it but some kind of liaison position I think. It's in the Bahamas though, Mum wanted us to go visit her over the summer too but Heather went bat-shit crazy about us not going. Mum thinks she just doesn't care about her family anymore, Dad thinks she's just afraid of the Shadows."

"Wouldn't blame her, that's why my Aunt took off," Scorpius told her truthfully, "And I think my Grandmother's scared too, or just nuts. She's started collecting all the articles about the Shadow Master being Voldemort's son."

"That does have a lot of people freaked out and scared. And with good reason," Abby admitted and inclined her head in agreement, "Bill Weasley is really upset about it."

"Why?"

"Because Victoire is already an Auror and Louis has signed up for it too."

"I thought he wanted to be a journalist or something like that?"

"He does but the push for more Aurors to fight the Shadows and his mother being killed by Shadows and all... I think he just wanted to help, like we all do. He says he'll go back to that when the war's over, I think Bill would rather he do that first though," Abby informed before giving a slight snort of laughter, "It's funny really, our parents fought in the war and taught others to yet they're mad at us for wanting to do the same. Maybe it's a good thing Bill doesn't know Dom and her husband are helping Aaron now."

"That reminds me, after this we need to go round up the others so I can fill you in on stuff."

"Okay, just don't ask me to go after Rose."

"Fair enough."

"So how was Egypt?"

Scorpius spent most of the breakfast talking about his trip to Egypt, the sights he'd seen and Abby would chime in with the occasional question about something she thought was particularly interesting. After that they split up to find the others, which proved to be a rather fruitless search. Maurice and Vern went off with their respective girlfriends, Molly went to talk to Viktor Krum the Flying Instructor to book the pitch, Albus and Latimer had actually gone to practice Quidditch, he decided to wait until they came back which ended up being until lunch. They again were stuck with the seating plan, he and Abby ended up talking about classes. After which, they had to find his scattered friends again although at least they were less scattered this time. He just had to get Maurice and a quick scan of the Marauder's Map found 'Sathan Loren' - Maurice and Orous' birth names showed up on the map, by process of elimination, Maurice was Sathan and Orous was Lathan - in an empty classroom with 'Lenore Callaway.'

He considered knocking but Maurice was deaf so it would be rather pointless, it only occurred to him that Lenore wasn't deaf after he'd already barged in. They were sitting on one of the couches the counsellors had put in when they were using some of the unused rooms last year, lips locked together and hands running over each other but thankfully Lenore heard the door and pulled apart. Scorpius couldn't help but feel a pang in his heart, Maurice hadn't even been with Lenore very long and in fact had considered dating - and kissing - disgusting and wrong until just as recently yet he was still better at it then Scorpius was. He didn't freak out like Scorpius had that time with Molly, it was a sad day when he realized the war obsessed soldier boy was actually more normal when it came to relationships then him.

"Heard of knocking?" Lenore commented to him while Maurice turned in confusion and scowled as he grabbed his translator necklace, "It's this new thing, you hit the door with your hand to alert those inside to your presence instead of... I don't know, simply barging in."

"I didn't think of it because Maurice is deaf and he's the one I wanted to talk to," Scorpius told her icily, disliking her tone of voice. And her in general.

"How'd you know he was in here?"

"Lucky guess."

"I don't believe in luck," Lenore told him sharply and Scorpius realized he really didn't have a better excuse, he was hardly going to tell her he had a magic map that kept track of where almost everyone was in the school at any time.

"So Maurice, if I could just talk to you for a minute."

"No," Maurice shot him down immediately and Scorpius started in shock, he'd thought Maurice the least likely of his friends to turn down talking about things war related.

"It's important," Scorpius insisted and Maurice's lip twisted slightly, Lenore's cold eyes darted between them but her face was impassive.

"Can't it wait?"

"Maurice!"

"Fine," Maurice agreed reluctantly, throwing him a dark look before turning back to Lenore and kissing her briefly, "I promise this will only take a minute."

"I guess I'll sit here and watch the grass grow," Lenore said snarkily as Maurice joined him in the corridor and Scorpius closed the door behind him, Maurice stopped to lean against the wall.

"Why do you have to bother me when I'm with my girlfriend?"

"It's to do with the war!" Scorpius protested in exasperation, "The war with the Shadows that are destroying Greece right now that no one seems to care about except me!"

"I get that, I just don't see why you couldn't have told me before I agreed to hang out with her. This weekend is the only time when we won't have classes and school work, prefect and Head Girl duties in her case too, to take up our time and I promised to help her with her Study of Ancient Runes since I'm fluent."

"I couldn't warn you, we have a stupid seating plan now and I didn't see you!"

"I don't think it's stupid, from a strategic standpoint it makes it easy to determine who is missing," Maurice stated as if it was obvious, "If everyone has a set place and to be and there is an empty place then they'd immediately know that person is missing. However, it's also pointless because and especially on weekends people show up for meals at different times, like studying for a part of the lunch hour before coming down or coming later for breakfast to sleep more or leaving to go to the toilet part way through, sometimes meals are skipped completely. Therefore, it's not a major alarm if someone is missing so it's pointless unless they make the meal times more rigid. It's also unnecessary to plan everyone like this, there's no reason they couldn't have allowed students to choose a seat and just had that as their allocated seat for the year. Although in a way it's nice that the First Years hang off my every word, I was telling them about the war."

"And exactly that kind of obsessive overthinking is why I want to talk to you about this stuff," Scorpius told him seriously, "You think about these things differently, you might have some idea what they're doing to the cities they take over."

"Well it's not that difficult to figure out, there are only three possibilities really for what they're doing with the muggles. A: killing them all, B: enslaving them or C: keeping them prisoner. Or possibly a combination. The unusual mark on that Greek leader's cheek implies B to me, I'd guess they're branding their slaves and probably setting them to work rebuilding what they're destroying in the way the Shadow Master desires," Maurice explained in a tone no different than talking about the weather, "They've taken over the Greek magical school so my guess is they're now training Greek magical children to be soldiers like they did to me, they may even have taken the younger children to my first school. The magical adults are probably Shadows now too, whether they joined willingly or out of threat and fear or torture or possession, I don't know. Anything else?"

"Yes! There's something else, come with me to the Room That Doesn't Exist and I'll fill you in along with the others."

"Is there a lot to cover."

"No."

"Then just tell me now," Maurice insisted and flicked his wand at the door, "Now Lenore can't overhear and this area is deserted, hence why we picked it because we didn't want to be disturbed."

"You know, relationships where all you do is make out don't tend to end well."

"We don't just make out. We talk."

"Talk about what? Making out?" Scorpius shot out before he could stop himself.

"No. Work, the war, the world, whatever," Maurice told him before giving him a cold smirk, "In fact, she noticed something clever that I didn't. The majority of the Ministry workers that the Shadows have killed were people who supported and played a part in the revamping of the Ministry that Kingsley and Potter were leading, that's why he doesn't have a lot of support anymore. Lenore's just brilliant like that. I hadn't even noticed, my knowledge of British politics is limited but in my defense I've only lived in this country for three years."

"She could be wrong."

"Well the fact Potter's being overruled by the Minister implies otherwise, it could just be a fortunate side effect and the Shadows killed them for other reasons I suppose. So just tell me what is you wanted to say."

"Fine," Scorpius sighed and quickly told him about the attack in Egypt with the woman.

"Fascinating," Maurice mused, "We really should find this woman if she's not already dead, her interest in the Scepter and the fact she claims to be from Athens could mean she knows something about it as well as more detail on the Athens situation. The Scepter is Greek and was in Athens before it was loaned to England to be studied there, she might've studied it while it was there like Roman did while it was here. Or that she studied something else of Herpo's as I believe there are some ancient texts on him which naturally are in Ancient Greek, in Greece where Herpo is from. Or some kind of Historian who's studied Herpo and his conquest, his use of the Scepter. They may know something about it, maybe even something about stopping it, which we don't."

"Any idea how to find her?"

"No."

"Alright," Scorpius sighed and gestured for Maurice to go, "That's it then, go back to your make out session."

Maurice headed back into the room with Lenore and Scorpius trudged up to tell the others about the woman, they didn't really have any more idea then Maurice on anything. In fact they were more worried about Rutherford, Scorpius was the one having to have detention with the guy and even he didn't think it was that big of a concern. So what if he was an asshole making changes? Last year they'd had the counsellors but that worked out. There were far greater things to worry about it, like the war and the people dying over in Greece because he'd failed to destroy the Scepter properly. After, Rose and Corin - despite not being in their year - went to get in some early studying for OWLs, Orous and Vern wanted to get some Quidditch practice in for the tryouts and Albus opted to go with them.

"Molly," Scorpius held her back as she started to file out with Latimer, Abby and Michael. He took her arm and she turned to him, he tried to smile and hoped it didn't look as nervous as he felt, "Want to hang out here with me? Maybe have another go at making out?"

"I'd love to," Molly agreed but his hope was quickly quashed, "But I have Rutherford's prefect meeting to go to. Maybe after or tomorrow."

"Ah, of course. I forgot, I'm sorry," Scorpius apologized and jolted away from her as if burned, waving her off in farewell, "Have fun."

"I'm sorry, I-"

"It's fine, it doesn't. Just go," Scorpius brushed it off, feeling rather like an idiot for forgetting about that, "Before Rutherford gives you a major offense too."

Scorpius didn't turn back around and heard her leave with the other prefects, leaving him alone in the Room That Doesn't Exist. He closed his eyes and when he opened them, he standing in a room very similar in decoration to the Drawing Room in Malfoy Manor but smaller and with only an armchair and fireplace for furniture. The same dark purple walls, almost black wood for the floorboards and the large chandelier glittering overhead. He plopped himself down on the very comfortable armchair in front of the fire blazing in the ornate marble fireplace, he propped his head on his elbow and watched the flickering flames burn.

He wondered how many fires were burning in Greece, how many people were dying, how many were screaming in pain, how many children were being torn from their loving parents arms to become soldiers, how many people were crying, how many lives were irreparably destroyed. He sighed and buried his face in that scarred hand, recalling the pain of the flames searing his flesh while Varanian's screams of agony echoed inside his mind. Memories of the Shadow Master played out silently before him, the power he possessed even before getting the Scepter, the memories Ashylos had shown him of Herpo's duel and defeat with the Scepter. So much power. And he'd destroyed Ashylos' soul, the one person in the world who would know what to do. He was beyond even the reach of the Resurrection Stone now. Scorpius should have been able to save him, if he was a better person then he would have been able to save both Ashylos and Professor Ashain. But he hadn't. He hadn't even destroyed the Scepter so that it couldn't be repaired and now Ashylos' country was paying for Scorpius' failures. And he was doing nothing to help them. And the world didn't even care.

_The ground shuddered abruptly, knocking him forcefully off the chair. Everything around him was shaking like it was an Earthquake, he got up and ran outside to see what was happening. Somehow leaving the castle entrance from the Room That Doesn't Exist, he saw see chaos raging, people dueling figures emblazoned with the skeletal snake symbol of the Shadows. The symbol burned in violent flames in the sky above them, high up he could see the Shadow Master with the Scepter laughing. He realized the person closest was Abby, just in time to see a spell hit her face and she screamed as she was disintegrated. He turned and saw the next closest person was Corin, again recognizing him just in time to be disintegrated. And Rose. And Vern. And Latimer. And Orous. And Albus. And Michael who didn't die immediately, Scorpius drew his wand and ran desperately towards his friend to save him but Michael was instead pounced on by a werewolf. He cast Expulso without opening his mouth and the werewolf was blown away, he tripped on something on his way and fell onto a corpse. Calderon's. He hadn't realized he was crying until he saw the tears falling onto his cousin's pale face, lifeless glazed eyes gazing up at him unseeing._

_He tore himself away and tried to run again, only to be shoved out of the way by Professor Ashain and he saw the professor struck by a flash of a spell meant for him. He scrambled to see how Professor Ashain, seeing him struggling to breathe through the blood he was coughing up before he went still and his eyes fell closed. He was dead. Scorpius scrambled away shakily and tried to wipe the rain of tears from his eyes, continuing on to Michael and falling by his friend's small again body, all bloody from the werewolf. He was too late. He heard kissing sounds oddly and got back up, spotting Maurice on a bench making out with Lenore. He hadn't even noticed the battle, Scorpius tried to call out to him but the deaf boy didn't hear and he watched in horror as Lenore drew a knife. He rushed forward, screaming for Maurice to look up uselessly and for some reason forgetting he had a wand. Lenore drove the knife through her boyfriend's heart and shoved Maurice's lifeless body to the ground, Scorpius raised his wand to avenge him but Lenore had vanished. _

_He spun around to find her and caught a glimpse of a red haired teenager, he lashed out with an Acuta which knocked her to the ground. And again. And again. Over and over as he raced towards the girl, violently throwing his pain and rage into the spell. It was only as he got closer that he realized she wasn't dressed like Lenore and her hair was much curlier, he dropped to his knees and turned over the body he'd mangled. It was Molly. He called her names but her eyes didn't open, he'd killed Molly. He pulled her body to him as he sobbed, cradling her gently in his arms. What had he done? He heard a child screaming and looked up to see Cassia, convulsing on the ground and screaming in pain like she was being tortured. He stood, Molly disappearing somehow but her blood remained on his hands._

_"Stop!" Antonius cried and he turned to see the small boy holding out the wand-handle from the Scepter out at him, he was bare-chested to show the scar on his chest, "Stop torturing my sister, Shadow Master! Wasn't killing your family enough?"_

_Scorpius looked down in shock and saw he was the Shadow Master. It was him holding the Scepter in one hand out at the bodies of his family, his parents, his grandparents, his aunt and even little Sol. He cried harder and saw his other hand was aimed at Cassia, a red jet of light shooting from his palm to hurt her. Varanian pulled her out of the way and tried to carry her to safety but he ran right into the trap, Scorpius tried to call out a warning but it was too late and fire shot up to consume the pair of them. He threw aside the Scepter and ran forwards to try save them, plunging his hands into the flames that stopped for some reason and he was instead combing through ash. Nothing was left of them but ash. And it blew away, billowing away with a flock of birds singing a melancholy song for Cassia._

_"I bet you wish that I'd killed you now," a familiar and horrible voice said to him._

_He turned back in horror to see Marvin, one of the muggles who'd kept him prisoner, the one he'd killed. Marvin was alive now though, the gun aimed at Scorpius' head and his other hand digging his nails into Antonius' shoulder. Antonius' hopeless eyes stared at him wordlessly and somehow he managed to look like Scorpius while still being himself, Marvin pulled him closer and tears rolled from his broken eyes. Marvin smirked at him cruelly and pulled the trigger._

_BANG!_

Scorpius jolted awake with such a start that he fell off the armchair, his eyes were stinging from the tears and his heart thundering. It was just a dream. A horrible, horrible dream. He buried his face in his trembling hands, thankfully not covered in blood. Trying to breathe to calm himself, deep shuddering breaths. He wiped his eyes from the pathetic flow of tears. It was just a dream. Why couldn't he just have normal dreams? He picked himself up headed out, not wanting to be alone with his thoughts anymore. He wandered through the halls, feeling his panic recede somewhere as he was comforted by the normalcy and seeing people going about their regular lives. And then he spotted Antonius and Cassia, he ran over to them immediately and dropped to Antonius.

"Antonius, I need to tell you something very important," Scorpius told him seriously as he put his hands on the boy's shoulders.

"What?" Antonius asked him worriedly, his eye now healed.

"If a dead man with green eyes tries to take you, don't go with him."

"Those dead people with green eyes are the ones to watch for," Cassia commented before bursting out laughing, it occurred to him that it might have sounded a bit odd. In fact the whole thing was rather irrational but still, he didn't want Antonius to go through what he had, "I'm sorry, Scor. Did getting detention make you go crazy though?"

"No, it didn't," Scorpius confirmed and turned back to Antonius, "It's just that you're nine, when you're nine and ten some bad people might want to hurt you so you just have to be extra careful."

"Be careful of dead people with green eyes?" Antonius repeated in bemusement and Scorpius hung his head, "Err... Sure, Scorpius, if it makes you feel better than I promise I won't go with them."

"Thank you," Scorpius said gratefully with a sigh as he stood, "Where are you two going anyway?"

"Dinner," Cassia supplied helpfully and he scowled, he'd been asleep way longer then he'd thought, "Scor, were your eyes crying?"

"Let's go then. Dinner awaits."

* * *

**Part 4: **Beginning

* * *

Scorpius headed down to dinner, still feeling shaken although seeing his friends helped but him at ease somewhat. Even if Abby was the only one of them that he could sit with, he really hated feeling cut off from them. Especially after having been cut off from everyone because of the bans put in place after the attack on Athens. After he returned to his dormitory, he set about his animagi practice. That relaxed him and he didn't really feel like going back to sleep anyway, after sleeping for a long while in the afternoon it wasn't like he needed it. He still had no luck though. It was only when he'd finally worked up the courage to try get some sleep that he noticed a light, he pulled back the drapes in puzzlement and saw Michael looking over some scraps of paper from the light of his wand.

"What are you doing?" Scorpius asked of him curiously.

"Nothing," Michael said quickly and shoved the papers under his pillow, they looked like articles.

"What's the big secret?"

"It's not a secret, you just... wouldn't approve."

"Well how can you know I wouldn't approve if you don't tell me?" Scorpius wondered with a scowl, "Don't you trust me?"

"It's not even about the Shadow War," Michael told him before _nox_-ing his wand and placing it on the bedside table.

"If it's keeping you up into the middle of the night then it's got to be something worrying. I-"

"I did have to stay up for prefect duties but fine, just don't say I didn't warn you," Michael sighed and turned over to face him, "You remember how my stepdad died suddenly of a heart attack in jail?"

"Yeah, good riddance," Scorpius scoffed and Michael frowned slightly but continued.

"And his mother also suddenly died of a heart attack."

"Yeah."

"I found out over the holidays that Crystal's ex-boyfriend, the guy who tried to beat us to death-"

"He tried to beat you to death?!" Scorpius burst out in shock and Michael nodded, "You didn't tell me that, your mother has terrible taste in men."

"Yeah but anyway," Michael continued quickly, "He also died suddenly of a heart attack last year."

"I'm glad! Psychotic bastard."

"And on the last full moon, Agnes' - my great-grandmother not my sister - killer-"

"Your great-grandmother was murdered?" Scorpius interrupted again in more shock and Michael looked somewhat exasperated.

"Yes, she tried to stop a mugging and... well, failed. The guy killed her and the guy he'd been robbing, would've killed me too if floating knives didn't scare him off."

"I'm sorry," Scorpius apologized although recalled vaguely Michael being able to see Thestrals back from their First Year, that would explain why. What else didn't he know?

"Thank you. So the killer suddenly died of a heart attack last full moon in his jail cell. Are you seeing the connection?"

"Karma?"

"Scorpius, I think they were all murdered," Michael said seriously, "And I think it was the same person who went after PAW, the ones who didn't die when the headquarters were blown up also died of heart attacks. I think someone's killing people who've wronged me in some way."

"I think you're overreacting," Scorpius stated dismissively, "Lots of people die from heart attacks and it's not murder. Just because you got lucky with some bastards dying, it doesn't make it murder either. Why do you even care? These were horrible people by the sounds of it."

"People are losing their lives, my little brothers and sisters lost their Dad and their Grandma. I don't like the thought of people dying and I don't like the thought of people dying because of me, maybe they deserved it but whoever's killing them has no right to decide that and to take their lives. Two of them were already in jail paying for their crimes anyway."

"What kind of murderers kill by heart attack anyway?"

"They could've used poison or magic."

"Did any of the muggles or wizards who investigated the deaths find any evidence of poison or magic?"

"No, not really," Michael admitted with a sigh, "But they do know PAW was murdered by some unknown magic, that person could've done that to the others."

"Fine. Let's say you're right, who do you know who could possibly be doing that on your behalf?" Scorpius asked of him seriously, "Your parents are muggles, your aunt is only just starting to learn magic and was in jail for at least one of the supposed murders, it's not one of your friends or siblings. So who?"

"Maybe Jack hired an assassin? He has been acting odd and weirdly helpful to Crystal, he has money now for no reason and isn't afraid to come into the magical world so he could have hired the weird magic user."

"You're suspicious of your Dad because he's trying to be a better Dad? C'mon, don't you think that's a little unfair."

"I just have a bad feeling about this, okay!?" Michael snapped at him, "I knew you wouldn't get it."

"I don't get it because it's insane! There's no serial killer assassin, it's just karma."

"Fine. Whatever," Michael sighed unhappily and rolled over onto his other side away from Scorpius, "Just forget I said anything."

"Look, I'm sorry," Scorpius apologized, "I just don't think it's likely, you're reading way too much into it."

"Alright," Michael insisted and Scorpius fell silent for a minute.

"Do you ever have nightmares about him?" Scorpius asked quietly, "Bob, I mean."

"No, not really."

"Do you ever think about him?"

"Why?" Michael asked, rolling back over to face him, which revealed his frown of confusion.

"Just wondered," Scorpius shrugged it off and rolled over himself, not wanting to talk about his dream right before he tried to sleep, "Night."

He supposed he should be grateful that at least he didn't have nightmares that night. The next day was the last before classes began, he once again had to deal with the tediousness of the seating plan. He spent the whole morning playing some Quidditch with Molly, Latimer, Albus, Michael, Orous, Vern and Abby for the practice. Molly and Vern were Keepers - the position they played - and the rest of them rotated on Beating and Chasing because dodging Bludgers was important as was dealing with the Quaffle as Albus was trying out for Chaser, Seeking didn't affect him so they didn't bother with that. After stopping for lunch - it was really annoying having to split up for the stupid seating plan - Molly decided to remember them spending some time alone together from yesterday, he wasn't in the ideal mood for it but he tried to shove the dream from his mind regardless. He just wanted to be normal with her, even Maurice managed that with his girlfriend. Maurice!

"Are you okay?" Molly asked of him as they made it to the Room That Doesn't Exist, it now looked more a cross between the Gryffindor Common Room and Malfoy Manor.

"Fine," Scorpius lied and flashed a smile as they sat down on the couch.

"You seem kind of distracted."

"Well I'm not," Scorpius insisted maybe a little too firmly. He didn't want to talk about disturbing dreams, he just wanted to snog his girlfriend like a normal person.

"Are you sure?" Molly wondered as she rubbed his arm gently, "You're tense. We don't have to do this if you don't feel comfortable, we can just sit and talk or something."

"It's just this stupid dream I had," Scorpius admitted and sighed heavily as he gave up on a normal afternoon, he was the worst boyfriend ever. Except maybe for people Crystal dates.

"Wanna talk about it?"

"We haven't seen each other in months and the first time alone we get, you want to talk about my disturbing dreams?"

"I'd rather try help you with what's bothering you then both of us be awkwardly worried and _trying _to be cheerful instead of actually _being_ cheerful. What would you do if I was upset about something?"

"Fine," Scorpius agreed and ashamedly told her about his dream yesterday, averting his eyes more and more, "And then I ran into Antonius and Cassia when I left, told him to be wary of a dead guy with green eyes because I had this irrational fear of Marvin coming for him."

"It's not irrational to be worried about the people you care about dying in this war or thinking about Marvin, Antonius being the same age as you were is probably dredging things back up," Molly offered comfortingly as she put a hand on his shoulder, "You can get through this."

"It's been years, Molly, years!" Scorpius protested as he stood, trying not to snap but was feeling frustrated as he turned back to her, "I don't want to get through it, I want to be over it already! I want to be normal! Am I going to start dreams again whenever someone I care about turns nine? When Cassia does? When Sol does?"

"Maybe," Molly told him unhelpfully and stood when he threw up his arms in exasperation, coming over to him, "Some things just have a lasting impact, some things you don't get over but you just have to accept that a bad thing happened. For the most part you cope okay and move on with your life but sometimes it comes back, it's been years since my Mum died or Uncle Charlie and I still get upset about it sometimes. And that's okay. I know it's not exactly the same thing but my point is that some things stay with you forever, you can't 'get over it' instead you just have to learn to live with it and have a normal life."

"Now you sound like Leebin."

"That's probably where I got it from."

"How do I that then?"

"I don't know but try being patient and not so hard on yourself, it's not a race," Molly pointed out and he sighed as he took her hands, smooth and soft in comparison to his scarred ones.

"I'm sorry. I just... it bothers me, everything I want feels so impossibly unobtainable right now," Scorpius admitted quietly and let go of her hands fearfully that the scars might make her uncomfortable but she took his hands herself, "Sorry."

"I don't care about your scars, I care about you," Molly whispered and he looked back to her, sincerity shining from her beautiful sky blue eyes.

"I care about you too, I'm so glad I have you in my life," Scorpius told her seriously and bit back adding that he was scared of losing her because really, she could do better than a scarred loser who still couldn't get over being abducted years ago. And he was afraid of water. And he was a complete failure. And he was useless. He was pathetic. What did she even see in him?

He reached his arm up to brush a strand of hair from her eyes gently. She smiled weakly and they leaned in simultaneously to kiss, a long and lingering kiss while the scent of cherries took his sense of smell. He'd missed that. Their lips parted to draw breath and smacked back together more passionately, he cupped her face in his hands and she ran hers through his hair. The couch relocated to them through and they sat back down with their lips still locked.

* * *

_"I've been chosen, Cissy, chosen to help create the Dark Lord's next and greatest Horcrux. He has deemed my blood to be pure enough for his honor, mine!"_

Memories of her sister's words echoed in Narcissa Malfoy's mind as she looked around her at what had once been her bedroom. She'd found every article she could on the Shadow Master being the son of Voldemort out so far, every scrap of news she could scour, even from less reputable sources like the Quibbler. She was that desperate. And now they were stuck up on the walls all around her, she'd even cleared out and rearranged furniture to make it easier to see the word-filled walls. The news hadn't freaked her out or terrified her like her family believed, it had instead struck a chord deep inside her mind. Awakening a distant, long forgotten memory.

_"What's that supposed to mean?" Narcissa had asked with concern as she picked baby Draco up from his playpen, "You're not going to be sacrificed are you?"_

_"Sacrificed?" Bellatrix had laughed, shaking her head as she crossed the distance between them and calmed herself. She cocked her head to one side with a grin and ran a finger down Draco's face, "No. I've been chosen to bear the Dark Lord a child to be his heir, for what is a more perfect choice for a Horcrux vessel then his heir?"_

Those words chilled her soul just as much now as they had in her memory, one Dark Lord running around was enough. She believed in the importance of pure-blood even still and had stood by her husband and sister when they signed up to be Death Eaters but she had never joined herself, she had no desire to serve someone as vile as Voldemort. Some... _things_ just weren't supposed to procreate and she especially didn't think children should be born purposely as vessels for a Horcrux.

Reading through the articles helped jog that memory free and now it came to her easily but she was sure there was more, her memory had just been tampered with by someone for some reason. After all, what were the odds that someone else had been the Shadow Master's mother when she remembered her sister's pride over being chosen? No. Even if she couldn't remember, she definitely got the feeling that Bellatrix had indeed bore him a child even if she wasn't quite sure of the exact circumstances.

That was why she collected every shred of information she could and re-read them until she could recite them by heart, she was trying to remember. She couldn't tell anyone of course, they'd probably think she was mad after all and if they did believe her then it would be worse. The Malfoys had it bad enough for their involvement in the other two Wizarding Wars, what would happen if the world knew they were related to the Shadow Master? The son of Voldemort? She couldn't do that to her family, especially not when all she had to go on was a fragment of a memory and a feeling there was more. She needed to know more before she knew what to do. The information was inside her head already, she just needed to find it. And she would.

* * *

OWLs. OWLs. OWLs. That was all Scorpius heard when classes started the next day, he had expected a waste of a lesson being lectured by their Transfiguration professor Midas - who again had Michael sit separately from everyone else because of his Dyslexia, supposedly - but not from others. Elina talked about it, Professor Ashain - he'd apparently said the same speech before because Cassia was mouthing word for word what he was saying, which had Albus struggling not to and eventually failing not to laugh, earning them both a reprimand - and even Professor Hagrid, Binns and Professor Vipera. They did essentially nothing for that entire first day except listen to what was pretty much the same spiel just applied to different subjects, they got the same thing for every other first lesson too the rest of the week but at least the ones they'd already gotten speeches from started work.

A lot of the work was revision though, part of the reason they'd started on OWL work last year was so that they could revise it this year to ensure they knew it. Scorpius was immensely frustrated, he didn't like doing things he'd already done. And all Rose wanted to do was study! Why did they need extra study when that was basically what they were doing in lessons anyway?! Thankfully it wasn't _all_ revision though and some had said they'd alternate between revision and new material as well, Midas insisting on going over everything Florian had taught them had cost her and she _had_ to teach them practical magic now. They could only do practical things one by one though so she could ensure they didn't actually hit someone but he'd take it, it was better than purely theoretical. Professor Ashain started teaching them the exploding _Confringo_ spell that Varanian had mentioned, Scorpius mastered it even faster than he usually did. He could see why Varanian had liked it, it was oddly cathartic to blow things up.

He also got a letter that first week from Rutherford about the detention he would be receiving, he said he'd allow Scorpius to get settled for the first two weeks and detentions would begin in the third week on Saturday in his office. Not something he was looking forward to. Classes became more important for talking to his friends since he only had Abby had meal times, the others tended to talk to over homework sessions. Molly and Latimer mentioned getting similar lectures on NEWTs, the Fourth Years were rather lucky to not have to deal with it yet. Vern's girlfriend, Olivia, sometimes joined them now and other times Vern would go with her and her friends instead. In contrast, Maurice's girlfriend, Lenore, never sat with them and he would frequently abandon them to help her alone. In fact, Maurice would leave them to hang out with Lenore a lot.

"Hey Maur, I finished that Potions essay faster than I thought," Lenore commented one of the days as she came over to their table with her book bag slung over her shoulder casually, Rose threw her a murderous look as Maurice was helping her with her Ancient Runes homework, "Want to hang out?"

"No, _Maurice_ would not like to hang out with you," Rose spat at her and Lenore cast her an expressionless gaze, "He's helping _me_."

"I wasn't talking to you, Weasley."

"Tell her, Maurice!"

"Well um... I was kind of helping Rose," Maurice stated awkwardly, looking very torn while Rose grinned triumphantly.

"Fine," Lenore drawled disinterestedly and shrugged, "It's admirable how loyal you are to your friends, most guys wouldn't risk winding up single to ditch their girlfriends like that. Have fun."

"Sucker," Rose smirked as Lenore started to leave while Maurice looked somewhere between horrified and terrified.

"Lenore, wait!" Maurice called after her in panic and scrambled to follow, leaving with Lenore. Rose's face went as red as her hair in rage.

"That bitch!"

Scorpius was inclined to agree, the more he saw of Lenore the more he disliked her and was surer she was just taking advantage of Maurice. However, he was kind of hoping Maurice would realize it soon because if not then they'd have to try tell him and Scorpius didn't think that would go well. Rose and Abby were also still not speaking, they'd sit as far away from each other as possible while still being in the group and just ignore the other's existence. Scorpius didn't know how to heal their rift, Abby said she was willing to forgive Rose and work things out if Rose got over it and apologized, Rose said she was willing to forgive Abby if she gave up her prefect badge to her and apologized. At least with practicing for Quidditch, they were apart even more as Rose hated flying despite enjoying watching matches. Scorpius almost thought that was a bad thing though, they couldn't avoid each other forever although talking could just lead to arguing so he really had no idea what to do to fix things there.

"You ready for the tryouts?" Michael asked of Albus as they headed down to breakfast that Saturday, their tryouts were that afternoon after the Slytherins.

"I was actually thinking that I wouldn't try out," Albus told him and Scorpius jolted in shock as did Michael.

"But-But you've been practicing so much," Scorpius protested and Albus shrugged, looking incredibly nervous.

"Exactly, I feel good about myself right now and that I can do good. I'll just fail the tryouts and then I'll feel like crap again, really disappointed in myself and miserable like I do every year. Except this time it'll be worse because I tried that much harder so it'll be more crushing when I fail," Albus explained quietly and worriedly, "Why put myself through that again?"

"Because you have a real chance this time! Because we've put so much time and effort into helping you practice! Because _you_ have put so much time and effort into becoming better at this!" Scorpius insisted determinedly, "Are you really going to give up after getting this far and trying so hard?! Wouldn't you rather fail then live the rest of your life never knowing if you could've succeeded or not?!"

"You really think I can do this?"

"Absolutely! I haven't seen someone so abysmal at flying turn it around so much."

"Thanks," Albus muttered with a scowl.

"What Scorpius means is that you've improved a lot and we think you have a real shot," Michael offered as they reached the Great Hall, "And everyone's going to be rooting for you."

"Okay, okay, I'll try," Albus took a deep breath, "Okay, I can do this."

"That's the spirit," Michael grinned and clapped him on the back.

* * *

_It was June 6th, 1982. Bellatrix Lestrange knew because she'd been keeping track of the days, it was important to document the date of the birth of the Dark Lord's child. She wasn't afraid of the Dementors, she wasn't afraid of Azkaban, she knew what the others didn't after all. She knew about his Horcruxes, she knew that even the rumors about his physical body being destroyed had been true, he was still alive. And he would return. Her master would return for her, return for all those who remained loyal to him, return to see the newest vessel for his fragment of his soul. And she would soon meet the Dark Lord's heir as she was in labor._

_It was six in the morning, counting the seconds helped her through the pain. Not that she minded the pain, she relished it even. It was physical pain, real pain, it kept her grounded in reality and not lost in her mind as the Dementors tried to trap people. Any pain was worth it for the Dark Lord, she'd do anything for the master, he was everything to her. And his child was about to enter the world, their child because he had seen her as worthy above all others, her blood pure enough to merge with his. She got the impression that her husband, Rodolphus hadn't liked the idea but well... she didn't give a damn what he thought._

_A cell wasn't the ideal location for the Dark Lord's child to be born, someone of such royal blood deserved much better than the squalid excuse she had to call home. It was tiny. There was a plank of rotted wood held to the wall by rusting chains for a bed, a burlap blanket that was so rough she often had to choose between the slivers of warmth it provided or not waking up feeling her skin was all scratched up. There was a cracked porcelain toilet screwed into the wall on the end of that, she wasn't sure what color it was supposed to have been originally but she was quite sure it hadn't been the dark dirt color it was now. There was a small window just over the top of her head if she stood further down the wall on the opposite side to the toilet, it was deeper than the height or width and of course iron riddled with iron bars._

_The window wall, bed wall, the wall opposite the bed wall and half of the fourth wall were the same black stone as the grubby ground while the rest of the wall was barred, that was also where the door was. She was lying on the filthy floor now though, her head resting on the edge of her 'bed' and two Dementors hovering at her feet to deliver the child. There was barely enough room for them, their hooded forms actually looked too big for the cell. Their presence - not those two specifically - made it perpetually cold, the seldom seen sun cast no warmth even in the summer month it was now. She wouldn't have known if she hadn't been counting that it wasn't still winter, she wouldn't even have known it was day either as thick black clouds clung to the sky outside. It was pouring with rain, she could hear it cascading outside. And this was where the Dark Lord's child was to be born, the child of the greatest and most powerful sorcerer in the world was going to be born here._

_Bellatrix laughed. She didn't know why but she laughed, maybe it was the pain or the ludicrously of the situation but she laughed. Her crazed cackle became a cry of pain as a final push ejected Voldemort's child from her body into the waiting hand of one of the Dementors, her head fall back against the bed and her body collapsed weakly. Time of birth was one minute past six. A crack of thunder and violent explosion of blue had her sit bolt upright as Voldemort screamed for the first time in its life, air filled its little lungs at it cried. Bellatrix watched with curiosity as the Dementor lifted the pale, sack of flesh and severed the chord with one of its long bony fingers. It held her child in those twisted hands, it sounded more like it was screaming instead of crying, screaming against the touch of inhuman hands. She gasped as another wave of pain overcame her, frantically continuing to count, unsure whether it was part of normal labor with the afterbirth or if there was more to come. With the amount of fertility potions and spells used, multiple births were a side effect she was aware of._

_She went back to counting the second, bearing through the pain while the newborn's cries continued. She thought it was a good sign really, crying meant it was alive at least and strong enough to make use of its lungs. She'd been afraid it wouldn't live, afraid the meager sustenance provided in Azkaban wouldn't be enough to sustain her pregnancy. It had apparently been enough, it just gave her no strength. She groaned a final time against the pain and with a final heave, her second child was born, she hoped it was the last because her energy was gone. Time of birth was six minutes past six. A second crack of thunder smashed over her firstborn's cries and she jolted upright as an explosion of yellow light erupted from the second baby, bouncing off the walls all around her as its screams joined its twin's. Bellatrix smiled as the light receded, pleased and impressed with the early magic usage as the Dementors would probably repress it now. The younger twin was now her favorite, she liked that one._

_She breathed deeply, eyes darting between the babies the Dementors held, their little bodies bathed in the shadows. They were just holding them, if they had eyes they'd be staring. She felt her heart seize up in true fear for the first time that the Dementors would kiss them or worse, take them away from her. They were her children, dammit! Hers! And Voldemort's! They couldn't be taken away, they needed to be with someone who knew their heritage not raised away from them! They could be raised by half-bloods or blood traitors or mudbloods or muggle filth, which thought was even more disgusting then the fact they'd already been born in a cell in Azkaban. She'd be damned if anyone thought she was willingly going to let muggle hands touch her precious pure-blood vessels, it would taint them and they'd be worthless as potential Horcruxes then._

_She needn't have worried though, the Dementor holding the firstborn swooped over to her and pushed the baby into her arms, followed almost immediately by the Dementor holding the second. They calmed down quickly away from the Dementor's hands, the dark creatures left and sealed the cell door behind them while she held the babies awkwardly. She'd been arrested and sent to Azkaban before she'd had time to learn more about infant care, she'd thought she'd had more time. They weren't what she'd expected babies to be really, they were tiny, wrinkled, blue-faced, shivering and covered in gunk. They barely looked human, a glance between their legs revealed they were or at least had genders. The firstborn was a girl and the second born was a boy, that was useful as she'd have trouble telling them apart. She smiled to herself, deciding it was a good thing they looked barely human because they weren't. They were better than mere mortals, they were the children of the Dark Lord. They were destined for greatness._

_She already had a name planned for a son, Voldemort's birth name had been Tom Marvolo Riddle. Tom for his father and Marvolo for his grandfather so she'd do the same for her son, Tom for his father and Cygnus for hers. Tom Riddle III was born, what was a more perfect birth name for him then to share the birth name of the Dark Lord after all? He could always fashion himself a more impressive name when he grew into someone to make the Dark Lord proud. And the girl... well, she'd think of something for the girl. Salazar Slytherin was a rather important part of the Dark Lord's heritage, maybe something to do with that. She looked up at the sound of the door as one of the Dementors returned, tossing two sets of prison clothes through the bars that looked barely big enough to fit a goblin but she guessed it was probably the smallest they had. She put the girl down to pull the clothes to her, wrapping little Tom up in one set to keep him warm before having to put him down to wrap the girl in one too. Twins were going to be a tad awkward, she realized as she managed to pick them both back up with difficulty and cradle their little bodies close. She scowled at them, it wasn't befitting of the Dark Lord's heirs to be wrapped in prison clothes from birth. She had no choice though really, they'd freeze otherwise and she didn't fancy the burlap blanket. She hoped the Dark Lord wouldn't hold it against her._


	3. Chapter 3: The Ministry Attache

_**Parts (9-11)**_

* * *

**V  
**

**Chapter 3  
**

The Ministry Attache

* * *

**Part 1: **For The Best

* * *

They headed out to the pitch after lunch as planned for the tryouts, even their friends who weren't trying out were coming to watch supportively in the stands. Others coming to try out or be there to support their friends, there was a decent turnout actually. The Slytherins were leaving as they approached the pitch, the sallow-skinned girl leading them he recognized vaguely as Krum's daughter.

"Hey Michael, long time no see," the girl offered and Scorpius noticed the Captain badge on her robes, "Good luck with the trying outs, I'd like a challenge for my first Hogwarts match."

"Thanks, Grozda," Michael nodded and Albus snorted with laughter.

"_Grozda_," Albus repeated and giggled under his breathe, Grozda turned immediately to him and raised an eyebrow.

"You have a problem with my name, _Albus Severus_?" Grozda asked of him and Albus blushed scarlet as she laughed, "So what position are you trying for?"

"Chase-Chaser."

"That's my position too. I hope you're to the task."

"I-I'm definitely up there. I can do... stuff. I practiced," Albus babbled uselessly as his eyes found the ground, clenching and unclenching his sweat-soaked palms, "Can do. Yup."

"Well good luck, see you on the pitch," Grozda told them and held up a hand in greeting or farewell maybe before continuing on back to the castle, Albus sighed.

"Am I just incapable of talking to girls?"

"From the looks of it, yes," Latimer offered and Albus threw him a scowl as they continued on to the pitch, Albus sighed again.

"Even slimy Slytherin snakes. Did you hear her laugh though? It was so musical, like... music."

"Maybe it's a good thing you can't talk to girls," Abby added and Albus threw her a look instead as she laughed while Roxy Weasley approached them, "Come on, Al, I'm just kidding."

"James is trying out again by the way," Roxy informed them, she had lighter skin then her brother but it was still darker. The sixteen year old had the same brown eyes as Freddie though and was also tall, however her hair was dark instead of bright red like most Weasleys but she did have freckles still, "Just a head's up."

"Thanks," Molly sighed, "Let's hope he gets outclassed or gives up so I don't have to worry about him breaking the opposing team's spines again. I wish Freddie was still here."

"How is Freddie by the way?" Scorpius asked of Roxy curiously, her brother had played Beater before graduating that summer along with his Chaser girlfriend, Caitlin. The pair had had a daughter during their final year, born in Hogwarts and delivered by Michael in fact.

"Alright, seems tired but happy enough," Roxy shrugged, "He, Caitlin and the baby have an apartment in Diagon Alley now. He works with Dad at his store and she works at Quality Quidditch Supplies as a shop assistant, they try and arrange their hours so that someone's always at home with the baby but if not then there's plenty of people who love to babysit. Freddie wants to throw her a happy half-birthday party to celebrate her turning six months old this month."

"Wow, can't believe it's been six months," Latimer breathed and the atmosphere tensed slightly, she had been born on the same night he'd attempted suicide after all.

"Time flies," Michael said as they reached the pitch and those just watching split off to go to the stands, Vern's girlfriend Olivia was also there to be supportive of them which he had expected somewhat but he hadn't expected Lenore to be there with Maurice too. Although she didn't look the slightest bit interested.

"Good luck," Orous offered kindly to them all as he went to the stands and Lily sighed heavily as she watched him go, clearly she still wasn't over her crush.

"It's okay, Lily, guys you like never notice you exist," Roxy said to her cousin somewhat unhappily while Abby walked all the way over to the stands just to come straight back.

"I'm trying out for reserve," Abby told them.

"Since when?" Albus wondered in surprise.

"Since its better than sitting up there with Rose."

"There's a whole Quidditch stands."

"Yeah but everyone's sitting over there, I don't want to sit all by myself," Abby protested seriously, "I probably won't make the team and even if I do then I won't have to play as a reserve, I'll basically just help you practice like I already do so why not? We're already missing out on time together because of the seating plan."

They fell silent as Molly started the tryouts, sorting them out by position they were trying out for before having them take to the skies to do laps. A few First Years and the Third Year Lysander Scamander couldn't even manage that, she tested their basic flying skills and some ability to dodge Bludgers after she set them on them which eliminated several more. Those left could try for specific positions then. Scorpius, Michael and Latimer were all still in, so was Albus and Abby had also made it. Roxy, Lily, James, Carver and Rufus Rhett - a Second Year who'd been the reserve Keeper on the team last year from lack of contenders, although he acted more as an assistant - were also still in, there were some others but he didn't know their names.

The Seeker trials were first, mostly because there were only three people trying out. Scorpius, Lily and James, Scorpius had been the Seeker since his First Year and Lily served as reserve. James had always wanted it but Scorpius was simply better, not that James would accept that. Molly released the Snitch and simply timed how long it took each of them to get it, Scorpius got it in two minutes, Lily in four and James in five.

"So the Seeker is Scorpius Malfoy and the reserve Seeker is Lily Potter," Molly announced and James opened his mouth angrily but she held up a hand, "Don't start, James. I gave you a shot even though I was perfectly happy with the Seekers and they're simply better than you, you're lucky I let you try out at all after the stunt you pulled breaking your cousin's spine last time. One word about cheating or how unfair I am and you don't even get a shot at Beater, this is my last year and I'm done with your crap. So what's it going to be?"

James closed his mouth but his eyes still glinted murderously at her, Scorpius was rather satisfied.

"Wise decision. So there's no Keeper tryout because that's my position but is there anyone for reserve Keeper?" Molly asked the crowd and Rufus Rhett eagerly jammed his arm up into the air, he was the only one, "Rufus Rhett is reserve Keeper, well done. Chasers and Beaters are up for grabs though so divide yourselves up, Beaters left and Chasers right."

She had the Beaters go first, having them bat Bludgers at stationary targets to test their strength and accuracy. James actually managed to outshine everyone, violently and relentlessly hammering the Bludgers, Scorpius was quite sure his anger at failing to get Seeker was helping him there. Carver was probably the strongest actually but his accuracy was pretty abysmal, Roxy had excellent accuracy but lacked the strength of the boys, the other candidates were fairly mediocre. Molly then said she'd come back to them and moved on to the Chasers, Scorpius wondered if it was weird how much he liked seeing Molly in her element, confident and certain of what she was saying and doing as she organized them all. He dreaded next year when she'd be graduated, both for Quidditch and just in general. Knowing his luck, James would probably get Captain.

She had the Chasers practice trying to score on her for a while first, Michael was the only one who managed to get a goal past her although Latimer came close. After that she had them passing in alternating trios while moving up the pitch, testing both their skill at passing in motion and teamwork. She had them do the same except the trios faced off against each other and had to get the Quaffle up to their rings first, meaning the two trios had to practice getting the Quaffle off the other one as well as teamwork. Finally, she had the Beaters return to try to hit Bludgers at them while they were doing the final exercise to test the dodging. It was also testing the Beaters in a more match-like state, she even paired them up to test out how they worked in different pairs together. James and Carver clearly had the teamwork there, he thought that them being friends probably helped and they worked the best in unison to strategize to take down the others.

By the same note, Albus, Abby, Latimer and Michael all worked well with each other. Latimer and Michael had the practiced ease of years of being on the team together, they were easily the best. Abby was terrible at getting the Quaffle but probably the most talented with aim and passing, good at flying though and naturally probably better without even trying but she was only going after a reserve position. Albus was ironically quite well rounded as a Chaser, his bad flying skills were what held him back although he had improved a lot. The other candidates were worse at the Chaser skills but generally - there were some exceptions - better fliers, it was really down to what Molly thought mattered more.

"Alright, come down. It was a tough call but I've made my decision," Molly announced after a while and the dozen or so fliers landed, "Roxy Weasley for reserve beater, Abby Longbottom for reserve Chaser. Carver Edwards and James Potter will be Beaters. Michael Sanford, Tobias Latimer and Albus Potter for Chasers."

"Did... Did you just... Did you just say that... that... that I made the team?" Albus asked looking absolutely shocked as if he'd been slapped in the face, James' friend also seemed to be pleased about making the team as Carver grinned, a genuine-looking smile and fist-pumped the air while disappointed others trudged off.

"Yes, well done."

"I made the team?"

"Yes."

"Me?"

"Yes!" Molly repeated for the third time and Albus' face finally split completely into a smile and he leaped at his cousin, pulling her into a crushing hug.

"Oh Molly, you're the bestest and my favorite cousin in the whole entire world and I love you so much!" Albus told her happily as he squeezed her even tighter, kissing her face repeatedly in between words and... and Scorpius realized Albus was crying, "I've never loved anyone the way I love you, thank you so much! Thank you, thank you, thank you! You have no idea how much this means to me and I won't let you down, I promise! Oh thank you, Molly, thank you so much. Thank you."

"You err... earned. Now please let me breath!" Molly complained and took a deep breath as Albus let her go.

"Sorry," Albus apologized before spotting Latimer and throwing his arms around the older and puzzled boy instead, "And thank you so much, Lat! You helped me practice and taught me to get better!"

"I also like breathing," Latimer pointed out and Albus abandoned him to hug Michael instead.

"And Michael! You also helped me so much, thank you!" Albus sobbed as he let him go and threw his arms around Abby, "And Abby! Thank you, you also helped! You guys are the best friends."

"Would you calm down?" Roxy complained with a roll of her eyes as Albus let go of Abby and pulled Roxy into a hug instead.

"And Roxy, thank you! You're also awesome."

"I didn't do anything!"

"I don't even care, I'm in such a good mood," Albus said as he let her go and tried to wipe his streaming eyes, still smiling, "I can't believe this."

"How did I wind up being the gay one when Al's like that?" James wondered of Carver to Scorpius' surprise, his eyes darted to the sullen looking elder Potter, "Honestly, it's not that hard. Especially when that blood traitor bitch is Captain, Malfoy's completely warped her weak little mind. What more can you expect for Uncle Percy's daughter? Its favoritism and nothing more. Next year will be better, we're the oldest after her so one of us has to make Captain and Gryffindor can finally have the amazing Seeker they deserve."

"Well I'm just happy to make the team, I'm going to get to be in real matches!" Carver pointed out excitedly, clapping James on the back that snapped James out of his foul mood as he looked almost wistfully at his friend. Scorpius was pulled into a compressing hug by Albus while they started back to the castle.

"And Scor! You also helped, how could I not have hugged you yet?!" Albus exclaimed as he squeezed the breath from Scorpius' lungs, "Thank you so much!"

"Thank me by letting me breath," Scorpius protested and Albus let him go, still grinning.

"I can't believe this. This is the happiest day of my life. Ever. And I don't mind just now but like years after now too, this will be the best day of my life."

* * *

Michael was glad to have made the team again, the practices were a welcome break from stressing about his OWLs. Pouring over the words that refused to stay still on the page night after night was giving him headaches, he supposed worrying about Jack being a potential serial killer didn't help. Maybe Scorpius was right that he was overreacting but couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, even Annie thought something was going on with Jack. He hadn't seen much of her over the summer due to her needing to stay with Varanian so he hadn't really had a chance to share his suspicions about his involvement in the deaths though, he'd try ask her at Christmas and if she also thought he was nuts then he'd drop it. And if not... He didn't want to be right actually, he didn't want his dad to be a murderer.

It was just too bad that the tryouts had to happen in the week leading up to the full moon on that Thursday, he could feel his strength started to slip on Monday and was too weak to practice by Wednesday or study or even attend classes at all. Instead he was down in the Hospital Wing with Marigold, drifting in and out of consciousness, dreading the moment the transformation would take him. He hated it, he hated every second of it. And now he also had the added feeling of letting everyone down because he wasn't carrying out his prefect duties, he knew that was quite irrational but he still felt terrible about it. All that was really just filler for before the full moon dawned though, why of all the things in the world did he have to be a werewolf?

"Where is he?" a voice asked and Michael snapped his focus back to reality as he saw Rutherford stride into the Hospital Wing as if he owned the place. He spotted him before Marigold the Head Healer could speak and stalked over to him, Marigold poked his head back out of his office in confusion at the intrusion, "Can you walk?"

"Why?" Michael asked almost at the same time as Marigold.

"I asked can you walk," Rutherford barked forcefully.

"I- Probably for a short bit."

"No he can't, the moon will rise in a few minutes," Marigold snapped sharply, eying the attaché with a look of intense dislike.

"That's we need to move now," Rutherford said calmly and abruptly threw the covers off Michael, half-helping and half-hauling him into a sitting position, "Come on, Michael."

"He's not going anywhere!"

"Who has priority here?" Rutherford asked with a confidence that Michael took to mean that Rutherford did, he was yanked to his feet and steered towards the door.

"Where are you even taking him, you bloody lunatic?!" Marigold demanded as he followed, Michael couldn't really do much more than keep putting one foot in front of the other and allow himself to be guided by Rutherford's strong hands.

"Somewhere," Rutherford answered unhelpfully, sounding almost amused by Marigold's unrest and would say no more on the subject.

Michael noticed they were heading down though, down into the dungeons. For a minute he thought that Rutherford was taking to Vipera for a potion or something but he took him a route that Michael hadn't been before, away from the Potions classroom, away from the entrance to the Slytherin Common Room and down. He unlocked a door and led him down a cramped spiral staircase, the air seemed to take a severe drop in temperature as he taken down the narrow and extremely dark corridor. Rutherford pushed open a final room and led him into a tiny room that... well it looked like a cell, there were chains on the walls and a small barred window on the door itself.

"This is where you're going to stay for your transformations from now on," Rutherford told him and Marigold looked horrified.

"No! Absolutely not!" Marigold shrieked, looking almost like he wanted to tear his hair out. It was short and dyed black, the white roots were showing on the forty-odd year old's head, "You're taking him back upstairs to the Hospital Wing, there's been no problem with him transforming there. He's on Wolfsbane, he's safe and I can keep an eye on him, make sure he gets through it okay."

"His safety isn't the concern here!" Rutherford yelled in interruption, Michael almost missed being short so his ear wouldn't be in line with Rutherford's mouth, "The student's safety is! And for one night of the month, he isn't a student but a monster! A monster the general student population needs to be protected from! He can't stay in the Hospital Wing. What if a student is in need of healing on the night of the full moon and the Hospital Wing is occupied by a werewolf?!"

"I can deal with a student needing help while Michael is there."

"No. I don't like it, it's too dangerous," Rutherford spat with a note of finality and Marigold looked incredulous.

"So your alternative is to drag a fifteen year old to a dark cell and chain up against his will?! People won't stand for that!"

"It's not against his will. Is it, Michael?" Rutherford said and turned to him, capturing Michael's eyes with his own, "You should know better than anyone what you've become, what you're capable of. Don't you want to keep your fellow students safe?"

"Of-Of course," Michael agreed nervously, "But I don't want-"

"Don't you think, especially as a prefect now, that it's your responsibility to take steps to keep people safe from you? Don't you think it's time you took control of your condition? You're a good kid, Michael, I can see that. Do the right thing here."

"Okay," Michael nodded as Rutherford was right, he could see that. Rutherford gave him an encouraging smile as he helped him to sit by the chains he'd soon be in, Michael swallowed nervously.

"This is bullshit!" Marigold screeched angrily, "I'm not going to allow this!"

Marigold whipped out his wand and raised it to attack Rutherford, Rutherford was faster though and drew his own wand with a non-verbal disarming spell already shooting out. It struck Marigold and his wand was torn from his grasp, Rutherford caught it and grabbed Marigold roughly. They were about equal in height Marigold was stick thin while Rutherford was robust, he threw Marigold against the wall with enough force to knock the healer down. Michael twitched but he hadn't the strength to stand to help Marigold, he didn't have his wand anyway. Rutherford seemed thankfully content anyway.

"Attacking an official Ministry representative like you just did could get your fired, or worse," Rutherford sneered and moved his leg as if readying to kick Marigold while he was down before thinking better of it, "Think about that, Mr Marigold."

Rutherford strode back over to Michael and knelt by him to shackle his ankles, they snapped shut with a loud metallic clink that seemed to vibrate through the sudden silence. The iron was so cold it felt like an icy burn on his flesh, they were loose fitting though. Michael took a deep breath and raised his arms to be chained the same, Rutherford gave him another smile of encouragement as he enclosed the bonds around his wrists. His arms dropped immediately to the ground, the chains too heavy for him to keep his arms held up in his weakened state.

"You're doing the right, Michael," Rutherford assured him gently as he stood.

"That's too tight," Marigold complained and Michael saw he'd gotten to his feet while Rutherford had been doing that, "When he transforms, they'll be digging into him."

"Good, we know they'll work."

"It's not good! It's-"

Marigold was cut off as Rutherford grabbed him and hauled him outside, he slammed the door shut behind them and Michael heard the sound of several locks sliding into place and sealing him in. He thought there might be some kind of silencing charm around the room as he didn't hear Marigold or Rutherford continue their conversation, he didn't even hear them walk away but he was sure they did. He was just left alone in the dark, windowless room, waiting for the end to come. It was for the best though.

* * *

Scorpius was in a good mood following the Quidditch tryouts, he was happy for Albus and glad practices would be back. Flying was great for taking his mind off things and he liked spending time with his friends, which now included Abby and Albus, even if some people he didn't like were also there. James and Carver behaved themselves around Molly lest they'd be kicked off the team, in fact maybe it was his imagination but Carver actually seemed to be trying get along with them, asking how they were or praising their flying. He was probably sucking up to try get Captain next year or maybe he just thought that now he wasn't a reserve he had to make an effort. It also meant more time with Molly, they always packed up and headed back to the castle together. They took their time about it and she didn't seem to mind holding one of his scarred hands for the walk back either, or she just didn't mention it. He hoped the former.

The next weekend he wasn't looking forward to so much, that was his first detention with Rutherford. The full moon was also that Thursday, meaning Michael had to spend some time in the Hospital Wing. He and Albus went to visit him on Friday morning before breakfast, which was essentially normal. Michael's transformations were difficult and he had an unfortunate habit of injuring himself during it, one of the reasons Scorpius was so desperate to become an animagus so he could be there to help him through it. Usually it was just a minor injury though, however that morning Scorpius saw both his arms were bandaged from the elbow down and Marigold seemed to be finishing bandaging his ankles.

"What the hell?!" Scorpius snapped in anger without thinking, Marigold looked up from what he was doing in surprise, "You're supposed to look out for him! How could you let him get hurt so badly!? What happened?! What is wrong with you?!"

"Scorpius!" Albus interjected and yanked him back, drawing him back away from Marigold and Michael.

"What?!"

"Yelling at him isn't going to solve anything and it's just distracting him from helping Michael!" Albus hissed at him and Scorpius glanced back to Marigold, the healer had gone back to bandaging the ankle. He was looking oddly dispirited actually, Scorpius scowled.

"Why do you think Marigold looks so bummed out? Think it's because of Michael or that's the reason he wasn't paying attention to help Michael?"

"I don't know, I'm not the god of Marigold's life," Albus pointed out before chuckling, "_Marigold_."

"You're so immature and how can you find amusement at a time like this?!"

"Because he has a name like a girl! How can you _not_ find that funny?"

"C'mon, let's just go to breakfast and we can come back at break when Marigold's done," Scorpius rolled his eyes and grabbed Albus to leave as his friend chuckled again at the use of Marigold's name, "Honestly, sometimes I think _Cassia_ is more mature then you and she's seven!"

Scorpius' good mood was dampened by Michael injuring himself, it didn't help his morning classes were Charms - with the teacher he despised - and double Divination as that was the class only he and Michael took. He had to pair up with Knight, who was worried about his little brother instead of the work. He had a free double period that afternoon when Michael and Abby would have Arithmancy, he returned to his dormitory and spent the break practicing his animagi transformation. It just put him in a worse mood from his lack of progress, at least Defense Against the Dark Arts cheered him up somewhat as they were still doing _Confringo_ and blowing things helped him vent. Even if that might make him sound psychotic. After that was a Quidditch practice, a visit to a sleeping Michael, dinner stuck in the seating plan with only Abby and then more animagi practice until Astronomy where Professor Koray was talking excitedly about Jupiter's moons. It was only after they got back that he remembered Rutherford's detention in the morning, returning his foul mood.

And so, Scorpius found himself heading to Rutherford's office - the location specified in his letter - after lunch. He supposed at least Michael had been more awake that morning and detention was tedious but not the end of the world, how bad could it be? He sighed and knocked politely on the door, Rutherford growled for him to enter so he did. It was a large room - as they tended to be in Hogwarts - which was made even more noticeable from the lack of things inside. Rutherford had kept things plain, there was a small table and chair facing the string of windows in the center of the room then Rutherford's desk. That was facing the table and had Rutherford sitting behind it going through the papers on it, there was also a door behind him which Scorpius would guess led to his living quarters or to an office that led to his living quarters.

"Ah, Mr Malfoy, very punctual," Rutherford commented pleasantly as he stood, carrying some rolls of parchment, a quill and vial of ink over to the table. He scribbled down something onto the top of the page and tapped the parchment with his wand before returning to his desk, "You'll be doing lines for me today, I want you to write that sentence a thousand times out. Well, nine-hundred and ninety-nine since I've done it for you first. I put a spell on the parchment, it will stop letting you write on it after a thousand times so you'll know when you're done and there's plenty more ink should you run out. Get to it."

"Yes, Sir."

Scorpius resisted the urge to sigh lest it be construed as rude as he went over to the table, lines weren't too bad. At least he wasn't expected to write them out in his blood. The sentence was 'I must not use magic in the corridors or attack other students' so he set to it, still think it was somewhat unfair he was being punished for defending Antonius especially when James got nothing for punching the poor kid. He really didn't like James. He rested his head on his hand as he wrote out the lines, listening to the gentle lull of rain outside. Rutherford didn't say anything, just got on quietly with whatever work he had to do. Eventually, the quill refused to write another sentence no matter how much ink he used.

"Sir, I'm done," Scorpius announced and Rutherford looked back up.

"Let me see," Rutherford said as he stood and came around the other side of the desk, Scorpius picked up the rolls of parchment for him and Rutherford checked them over before nodding in approval, "Yes, this will do."

"Does that mean I can go now, Sir?" Scorpius asked as politely as possible, wanting to see how Michael was doing.

"Not quite yet," Rutherford told him as the edges of his lips curled into an icy smile and Scorpius noticed just too late the wand in his hand, "_Legilimens_!"

The room was immediately and he saw memories flickering through his mind like a reel of film, his concern for Michael must've been at the forefront of his mind as he found himself relieving his memory from early of seeing Michael, snapping at Marigold... Scorpius realized he was having his mind pierced for the second time in his life except this time there was no pain in his wrist, no burst of light that set them shooting across them across the room and being knocked into unconsciousness. Thinking about that caused the memory of Varanian to flicker through his mind when they were trying to save the Scamander twins, he couldn't let him see memories of Varanian or he'd be at risk.

"NO!" Scorpius screamed and found himself falling back onto the floor, returning to reality. His head throbbed painfully as if claws had been trying to tear his mind from it, "Stay out of my head! Stay out of my head!"

"Why, Malfoy?" Rutherford wondered with a smirk and Scorpius scrambled fearfully away, he had no idea how Occlumency, "Got something to hide."

"No," Scorpius lied as he got to his feet.

"I know you're lying," Rutherford sneered, "A good Legilimens can tell when people are lying, I know you're lying to me just like I know Potter lied to me. _Legilimens_!"

"_Stupefy_!" Scorpius cried too late, it either missed or wasn't cast as he was plunged back into memory.

He was eight and his mother was telling him what Legilimency and Occlumency were, unfortunately not how to do them. Dammit, how did he stop this?! Hadn't anyone ever told him anything useful about Occlumency?! He was back to last year, Molly was getting the Parseltongue memory from him at Maurice's command... Maurice, Maurice knew everything, he'd know. That didn't really help him now though. He was even further back last year, seeing Rutherford threatening Leebin that he was a Legilimens while Leebin countered he knew Occlumency. This apparently surprised Rutherford as he came out of it to see that expression on Rutherford's face while Scorpius fell back against the wall, his wand clattered to the ground before he'd realized as he leaned back breathing heavily.

"How did you see that?" Rutherford demanded of him and Scorpius started to shake his head determinedly, "_Legilimens_!"

He was back in First Year, Albus was showing him the Invisibility Cloak for the first time... Back to last year when they were using it to go out after Ashylos, shaking free his grief at killing him... And then he saw Ashylos' spirit being destroyed again... The Shadow Master trying to kill Antonius... Going back for Varanian, getting Varanian out to safety... Varanian saving him from drowning...

"NO! NO! NO!" Scorpius fell back to the ground again, hearing himself screaming against it. He clutched at his aching head, wondering whether the feeling of the claws tearing into his mind was Rutherford's invasion or his own frantic desperation to get him out. Either way he felt rather violated and terrified of him learning Varanian's location, he was shaking and his heart thundered inside his chest, "STOP! You can't do this to me! There... There are laws!"

"Good luck proving it, especially after you already have done lines for me as evidence of a real detention occurring here. It's your word against mine and you're already considered mad by the Ministry, your mind damaged by your abduction which made it easier for you it to be twisted and warped by Varanian," Rutherford told him coldly and Scorpius realized how close he was to the door, he was leaning against the wall right next to it, "I know you know how to get to him, how to find him and I will know because he _has_ to be stopped. You can either help me willingly or this will continue to be unpleasant."

"NO!" Scorpius barked again and snatched up his wand, trying to run for the door but Rutherford was faster and grabbed him, slamming him back against the wall and holding him in place, "I'LL NEVER HELP YOU!"

"HE'S A CRIMINAL!" Rutherford roared, "A murderer! A thief! A kidnapper, regardless of how willing you and your friends feel! He's damaged property! Assaulted people! Evaded arrest! Shadow scum or not he's a _bad_ person, you're doing no one any favors by trying to protect him! He's an enemy of the Ministry of Magic! An enemy of the law!"

"He's a good person!" Scorpius yelled defensively, anger erupting through his fear.

"He's a criminal! He's volatile, unstable, delusional and psychotic! Just like the rest of his family!"

"His family was mostly Aurors! I think."

"And that makes them saints?!" Rutherford sneered, "Aurors can snap too especially since they have legal access to the corrupting Darkest of Arts, there's blood on their hands and blood on his! He's like a bomb waiting to explode, look what he did to PAW!"

"That wasn't him!"

"He's lying to you! He snapped and murdered them all, how long before he does again!? How many people does he have to kill before you realize it?! Will you stand loyally by his side when he kills you too?! It doesn't matter because I'll find the answers whether you want it or not! Leg-"

"_Confringo!_" Scorpius cried and flicked his wand at Rutherford's desk behind them, Rutherford spun distractedly to see his desk exploding into smithereens and Scorpius bolted through the door. He ran as fast as he could force his legs to go and then some, he didn't stop running.

* * *

**Part 2: **Try, Try and Try Again

* * *

Scorpius ran until he was out of breath and leaned back against the wall shakily, breathing heavily as he glanced up to check but saw no sign of Rutherford. He pulled out the map anyway and managed to activate after a few breathless attempts, his eyes darted to see 'Gerhard Rutherford' was still in his office and hadn't followed apparently. He allowed himself a sprinkle of relief and put a hand to his still aching head, trying to think through his terror at what to do. He was sure Rutherford would try again and blowing up his desk would give him extra fodder for detention if the first incidence wasn't enough to warrant more, Scorpius didn't think it would be so easy to get away next time. Rutherford was no fool.

But Scorpius couldn't let that happen, Rutherford could find out where the hideout was, about the Portkey ring that could take anyone straight to Varanian. He thought of the last time he'd seen Varanian, where he was struggling to walk with the cane. He doubted Varanian would be back to full strength already, he was still recovering so he was especially vulnerable right now. And Rutherford could find out other things too, he could find out what he knew about Calderon's past which could cause some trouble for his cousin, find out about Antonius having the last part of the Scepter which would be bad if the Shadows ever got the information from him. He had to stop that from happening.

But how? Maurice. Maurice had to know something that could help, he always did. His eyes shot back to the map and he found 'Sathan Loren' - Maurice's birth name - once more, in an unused classroom out of the way with blasted Lenore again but he didn't care about that. He raced off, throwing his body back into a run as fear continued to fuel him. He barged in, not caring that he was interrupting another make out session. They were again on a couch with their lips locked, Maurice was running his hands all over her and hers were dragging through his hair. She pulled away as he stormed in, leaving Maurice's normally neat hair in a mess. Maurice was momentarily confused before he noticed Scorpius and scowled.

"What do you have against knocking?" Lenore complained as Maurice's hand went to his translator necklace.

"What the hell, Scorpius?!" Maurice snapped irritably.

"I have to talk to you, now," Scorpius told him although it sounded more like a demand.

"Well I don't really feel like talking to you right now, go away."

"Maurice! This is important!"

"I don't answer to your beck and call, I-"

"Rutherford used Legilimency on me!" Scorpius yelled at him and Maurice's surprise silenced him, Lenore chuckled, "It's true!"

"I believe you," Lenore insisted holding up her hands and smirking, "Almost everyone from the Ministry are slimy gits, it's just amusing."

"Okay, I'll talk to you outside," Maurice agreed and pecked Lenore on the cheek, "I'll be back soon."

"Great, I can see how that grass is doing."

"Thank you," Scorpius offered to Maurice as the Fourth Year followed him out into the corridor, he was starting to regret blurting it out in front of Lenore, "Why couldn't you just have come outside when I first asked you?"

"Well you didn't have to be so rude about it. And why do you always have to need me at the most inopportune moments anyway?" Maurice countered.

"Well if you did anything other than snog Lenore then I wouldn't have to interrupt you during it, would I?"

"I don't just snog her, in fact I spent most of today helping her with her Ancient Runes homework and we only just got to snogging."

"Having a girlfriend, doesn't mean that you should forget your friends," Scorpius pointed out and resisted the urge to add that he shouldn't have to keep helping her with Ancient Runes homework because he didn't want to go into that right now.

"I haven't!" Maurice protested and frowned, "It's just... This... This is all just new to me. All of these things I've never felt before, I have all these feelings and... and desires. Is that... Is that normal?"

"Rutherford! We're talking about Rutherford and Legilimency!" Scorpius blurted out, blushing furiously but determined to get back on track, "This is a problem!"

"I know," Maurice said with a nod, "If he gets inside your head then he might figure out where Varanian, Roman and Wyatt are. Even with the Fidelius Charm, a skilled Legilimens can trick you into giving up the information and then there's the Portkey ring. If he taps into your memory of that then it won't matter, they can activate it and get straight to him. It'd only be a matter of time before they get him, Roman and Wyatt then the Shadows would kill them and our nameless group of soldiers would be screwed."

"Yeah, so what do we do?"

"I'd advise telling Varanian to move."

"Maurice, he can barely walk right now let alone find and move to a new hideout. He's vulnerable," Scorpius pointed out, "I came to you because you probably know something about Occlumency?"

"Obviously," Maurice stated matter of factly.

"Last time Varanian tried to use Legilimency on me to get Linden's house location, my wrist scar knocked us both out but that didn't happen with Rutherford. Was that Occlumency?"

"No. The scars around our wrists are because we're bound to the Shadow Master, theoretically someone tapping into you could access your connection and get through to the Shadow Master's mind. The Shadow Master wouldn't want that so either consciously or just as part of the spell, it tried to stop him reading your mind but you wanted him to so it still happened. Calderon sealed your connection though, taking away the risk to the Shadow Master and the protection. Occlumency is completely different."

"Well fine, just teach me Occlumency then. I need to get it down before another detention with him."

"Scorpius, Occlumency isn't like regular magic," Maurice said seriously and shook his head slightly at Scorpius' ignorance, "You can't just wave your wand, say a spell and Rutherford won't be able to get in. It's difficult to learn and do, even for wizards talented in other areas, even for adults. I don't think you'd get it, certainly not before another detention. I'd imagine it would be soon if Rutherford's really out to get you."

"I could try it."

"You could but I still don't think it's the best plan. If you're this impatient and testy then you'll never get it."

"Then what's your suggestion?" Scorpius wondered and his head shot back to the door as he heard it open, Lenore came out but Maurice being deaf didn't notice.

"Polyjuice Potion. If I go to detention in your place and he tries to use Legilimency then I can throw him off, I have the connection scar on my side as a last resort and he won't know it's not you if he can't read your mind. Or my mind rather."

"Maurice, shush," Scorpius hissed at him and turned angrily to Lenore, "And what are you doing?"

"I got bored watching grass grow. Honestly, how long do you expect me to wait?" Lenore complained as she leaned against the wall and folded her arms, Maurice noticed her and smiled, "So your plan to beat Rutherford is Polyjuice Potion?"

"Yes," Maurice confirmed and Scorpius threw him a dark look, although he supposed it was his own fault for talking about things in front of her. As long as she didn't know why they wanted to protect his mind, he supposed it wasn't the end of the world, "I know how to make it. We just need ingredients, sooner rather than later because it takes a while to brew."

"How long?" Scorpius asked, forgetting Lenore in his worry.

"A month."

"A month!? I doubt Rutherford's going to wait a month to give me another detention! I could've learned Occlumency by then!"

"Ha, I doubt it," Lenore scoffed and Scorpius glared at her, "It's difficult magic, even for Scorpius Malfoy the boy wonder. Any progress you make in less than a month won't be enough to stop a Legilimens of any decent skill."

"She's right, you know," Maurice commented and Scorpius glared at him instead.

"Great, so my options are not learning Occlumency in time and not brewing Polyjuice Potion in time?! Fantastic!" Scorpius snapped sarcastically and turned away, rubbing his still aching head. If he couldn't stop Rutherford from invading his mind then he'd have to leave, he couldn't risk Varanian and the others.

"The first thing you need to know about Occlumency is that it involves clearing your mind, not being emotional like you are now."

"If you want Polyjuice Potion before your next detention then why don't you just buy it?" Lenore asked and Scorpius turned back to her irritably.

"I'm pretty sure shops don't sell that stuff," Scorpius pointed out and Lenore smirked.

"On the black market they do."

"Well great but as much as I've always wanted to buy illegal goods, we're in Hogwarts in case you hadn't noticed and the next Hogsmeade trip isn't for like a month."

"You don't get yourself," Lenore told him with a roll of her eyes, "Write home and have your folks get it, they can send it back by owl."

"My parents wouldn't do that, they'd ask why and probably not believe me or if they did then they'd probably just pull me out of Hogwarts or something."

"Huh, interesting. Well, you know my uncle could probably get it for you if you wanted... And if you were willing to pay of course."

"No!" Scorpius scoffed, neither believing nor trusting her.

"Your loss," Lenore shrugged disinterestedly before turning to Maurice, "It's nearly time for dinner and you seem busy with this so I'm going to go, I'll catch up with you later."

"Oh right, see you later," Maurice agreed somewhat disappointedly and Lenore gave him a quick kiss in farewell.

"Bye," Lenore offered and smirked at Scorpius as she left, "And have fun having your mind pillaged by Rutherford, see ya."

* * *

_Bellatrix did her best to take care of the twins, on the plus side it gave her something to focus on during her incarceration and keeping them alive to be Horcruxes for the Dark Lord was serving him so it did also feel good to be doing something for him. On the negative side, it was somewhat tedious at times and difficult. The Dementors gave her no diapers so she had to clean out the soiled clothes in the toilet, it was as disgusting as it sounded and she hated that, prisoners were only allowed once shower a year so she couldn't bathe them except for them either. Feeding them was easier at least, she had no choice but to breastfeed them but ironically they probably were better fed then she was. Amusing them was also a challenge, trying to jangle the chains holding up the 'bed' and she discovered she could rock it slightly if they were on it._

_Aside from that, she resorted to banging things and waving her hands in front of their faces. It was really the best she could do, she had nothing. She talked to them though and told them of their purpose and great heritage, even if they were too young to understand. She started sleeping on the floor to give them the 'bed' as it wasn't even long enough for her to lie without bending her legs, let alone for her plus two babies and bundled them up in the burlap blanket. She lay there frozen on the ground for them and they still insisted on crying every other hour to awaken her, it could be somewhat frustrating. Still, it was her responsibility to keep them alive so they could serve the Dark Lord and Bellatrix was nothing if not loyal. She also finally settled on Salazia as a name for the girl, her favorite choice on a name coming from Salazar that she could make up. They were sickly babies, often suffering from colds and rashes which she took to be from the poor conditions of Azkaban. They hung in there though, as the Dark Lord's children of course they did._

_They did start to get more interesting as they got older and became more active, when they started doing things other than crying and pooping. Tom smiled first which she took to mean as he liked her more than Salazia did, furthering him as her favorite. Salazia crawled first though, after a tedious amount of sitting in a crawling position and not moving - from both of them - she took the plunge and Tom followed not long after. Tom was the first to walk, after an equally tedious amount of standing and holding onto the bed or bars - from both of them, the bars were useful standing aids for babies - Tom took the first step away from them and Salazia followed not long after. Salazia was the first to speak saying 'Mama' to her which Bellatrix took to mean that she was just sucking up to her, pathetic. Trying to get them to talk was an interesting process, Tom had a habit of only saying the first part of a word - like hell for hello - while Salazia had a habit of adding 'ee' to the end of a word - like helloy for hello - which was how they wound up with their nicknames. Salazia could only say Tommy instead of Tom while Tom could only say Sal instead of Salazia, she got so used to it that the names kind of stuck. Tom and Salazia became Tommy and Sal._

_The twins pretty much ignored each other in the early days but as they got older they started noticing each other, they'd respond to their own names and know who the other as and they'd interact with each other. They grew from babies into toddlers with still no sign of the Dark Lord returning, he hoped he'd return before they reached Hogwarts age as they had to know magic. The children of the Dark Lord couldn't not know magic, it was shameful. Toddlerhood had the delight of toilet training, having it so close helped them learn and she could finally not have to clean soiled clothes in the toilet anymore which had her cackling in delight. Toddlerhood also posed the challenge of finally moving them to solid food, the Dementors did start giving her extra food and water but not a whole lot. They noticeably lost weight after the transition, they'd never been exactly chubby cheeked but they had had some meat on their bones._

_They were both incredibly pale, she thought it a combination of never seeing sunlight and genetics while in contrast their eyes were so dark and their dull, brittle hair black as night. It was wavy but filthy, constantly matted with grime and dirt from their inability to bathe regularly. They still had the same clothes the Dementors had given her at their birth and they were still too big, which probably just made them seem even smaller. They were small for their age and thin, looking rather like waxy skin had just been stretched over bones, giving them an atrocious skeletal appearance. They were still ill a lot, Bellatrix had actually considered sacrificing one and simply only feeding Tommy - obviously, she'd spare him - so he'd have Sal's portions but their poor health encouraged her to let them both live as if one died then she'd still have the other to present to the Dark Lord whereas if she killed one and Tommy died anyway then she'd have none. She talked to them plenty as they got older, telling them about the world outside their reach._

_They also lost a lot of their energy instead of gaining it, they were weak but she couldn't do anything about it, it was just the condition of Azkaban. That and the Dementors, of course. They still affected her, dragging her into painful memories she couldn't escape form although she wasn't sure if the twins had to deal with that since... well, they only had memories of Azkaban so what did they see? Their worst memories would really be no different from the present. She worried that it might affect their ability to use magic later in life, the Dark Lord wouldn't want them for Horcruxes if they couldn't do anything. She needn't have worried though, her proudest moment was waking up to hear hissing. Hissing like the times she'd heard the Dark Lord speak Parseltongue, the two year olds were both Parselmouths like their father and ancestors before them. A sure sign that not even the abysmal conditions of Azkaban couldn't take away from who they were and what they were meant to be, they were still Riddles._

* * *

It quickly became a very stressful time for Scorpius, the next day he got a letter from Rutherford informing him he was 'being lenient' and counting 'vandalizing his desk' as a minor offense. He was losing a further twenty-five house points from Gryffindor and would be receiving detention with him every afternoon for Saturday and Sunday until November, the Hogsmeade trip being the only exception. He had just a week to find a way to stop Rutherford penetrating his mind, he'd told the others - except the still bed-ridden Michael because the risk of Marigold overhearing was too great - and they couldn't think of anything except the solutions they'd already thought of. Occlumency and Polyjuice.

He and Albus slipped out under the Invisibility Cloak that night to get the ingredients Maurice needed from Professor Vipera's stores, the map and the fact three of their friends were patrolling as prefects helped them get it easily. Maurice did actually manage to pry himself away from Lenore to step up to the task of helping, he alone knew how to make the potion and how to do Occlumency after all. Maurice said even at a stretch the potion would still take over three weeks to complete, he'd be halfway through his detentions by that point. So he started Scorpius on Occlumency.

"Okay, so Occlumency," Maurice began the next day, talking to Scorpius and Molly alone in the Room That Doesn't Exist at Maurice's insistence, "And Legilimency. Molly is going to try to delve into Scorpius' mind and Scorpius is going to try to block her."

"Wait, why am I doing it?" Molly wondered, "I don't know Legilimency, Maurice."

"People with Silver Lime wands, like yours, tend to have an inclination for it. I need someone to be able to do it to me so I practice Occlumency too, it's also quite useful to practice defending against more than one person as everyone has a slightly different style. Besides, I can't use my wand and my necklace at the same time so at times this may be easier. I've not the most accomplished at Legilimency anyway."

"When have you used Legilimency before?" Scorpius asked curiously.

"During the test last year, took a lot of attempts to get it to work then again on... on my... the Soul Eater I was trying to get information out of to go after the others a few months ago," Maurice told him, faltering slightly before recovering, "It works infrequently and I can't see more then useless glimpses, not the best for you to defend against but like I said, I haven't had a lot of practice."

"The fact you can use it all at fourteen is incredible," Molly pointed out.

"I've been practicing magic as long as you have and studying it since the day I turned two, every single day without silly break days or lots of spare time," Maurice shrugged it off, "I literally can't remember a time when I wasn't learning and preparing to be a soldier, having to use magic to fuel my necklace also teaches stamina. It's not really that surprising when you consider the wasteful methods of Hogwarts and Beauxbatons. I mean, do you know we only have classes two-hundred and six days out of the year? That's only fifty-six percent of the year, barely over half because of the weekends. In my first school I had classes three-hundred and fifty-eight days out of the year, that's ninety-eight percent of the year and it was a hundred percent before Roman started insisting on me seeing him for a week. If you compare the six years I spent in my first school and the six I've spend out, there's a fifty-sev-"

"Maurice, please... please stop with the math," Scorpius interjected and rubbed his head, not wanting to get a headache before he'd even started Occlumency.

"Besides, you don't really think the school that tortured you on a daily basis is the better?" Molly added.

"It depends on your definition of 'better' really, purely in regards to effectiveness then my first school is the best. The methods may be deemed harsh by regular society but they work. But if you mean the overall health and happiness of the students then Hogwarts and Beauxbatons would be superior," Maurice answered and Scorpius was oddly glad to hear Maurice sounding much more like his usual self, "I-"

"Occlumency and Legilimency," Scorpius interrupted to try get them back on track.

"Alright," Maurice nodded and whipped out his wand, "Occlumency is actually in principle quite simple but much more difficult in practice, there is more complexity to it but we only need the basics right now. I'm going to try to read your mind, Scorpius, and you are going to try to resist. To do that, you need to clear your mind. No thoughts, no emotions, nothing. You need to be blank and empty."

"That sounds too easy."

"I told you it does."

"How does clearing your mind work to stop it then?"

"Legilimency works by delving into your mind, if your mind is empty then there's nothing for them to see. The mind is a multi-layered thing and at the top is you conscious thoughts so to empty your mind you repress everything beneath it, they can't get further into the mind if you can't get past that top layer and if it's blank then they can't get through. Any thoughts or emotions or something on your mind is connecting your conscious thought to other layers beneath your consciousness, Legilimens go through that connection to get to the other layers and from there they do... whatever. So you have to keep your mind blank, okay?"

"Okay."

"And you expect me to learn how to do that?" Molly wondered incredulously as she folded her arms.

"Yes but I'll go first. The incantation is _Legilimens_," Maurice said and jabbed his wand at Scorpius on the final word.

Scorpius felt as if a knife had been plunged into his brain, the room swam and memories flooded his mind like before with Rutherford. Except this time they were much more fragmented, he couldn't register what he was seeing before it was changing as it only lasted seconds. And then he was out of it, falling back against the floor with Molly rushing over to him.

"Did you even try to clear your mind?" Maurice asked of him as Molly helped him to sit up, he put a hand to his head. It felt like someone had driven nails inside his skull.

"Of course I didn't, I wasn't ready," Scorpius told him slowly, almost surprised his words were sounding normal.

"Do you think Rutherford's going to stand around and wait for you to be ready?"

"You could've gone easier on him for his first time," Molly protested as he got to his feet unsteadily, "Are you okay, Scor?"

"If you're experiencing pain in your head, that's a common side effect of Legilimency. Especially with attempted resistance or an unskilled practitioner."

"You didn't think to mention that before?!"

"No, not really," Maurice shrugged, not seeming to think it was relevant, "So are you ready to try again?"

"No, he's not!"

"No, Molly, I have to keep at this. I _have_ to get it before next week or Varanian will be in trouble," Scorpius shook his head and regretted it, "I'll do better when I have a chance to prepare.

"Have you told Varanian yet?" Molly asked worriedly, "Maybe he can just move to a different hideout because I don't think you're going to be able to get this by Saturday."

"Varanian can barely even walk right now, he's not in the best condition to have to move or to fight anyone off!" Scorpius protested irritably, "And I don't even know if he's wearing his ring right now since his hands also got burned!"

"Okay, sorry. No need to snap."

"No, I'm sorry," Scorpius apologized with a guilty sigh and rubbed his throbbing head, "I'm just really worried about this and it doesn't help that my head feels like someone stuck a knife in it."

"So are you ready to try again?" Maurice asked of him impatiently and Scorpius took a deep breath as he nodded, trying to clear his head.

It didn't work. They tried over and over but Scorpius didn't get it, he _tried_ to clear his mind but to no avail. More of Maurice's attempts worked then not and after every time he felt as if a knew knife had been stabbed into his skull, the only reprieve he got was when Maurice was having Molly attempt it. She actually managed to have more success with Legilimency then Scorpius had at Occlumency, by the end of what wound up being a very long Sunday she had also caused flickering fragmented memories like Maurice a couple of times. Except hers was somewhat less painful. They only went to bed in the early hours of the morning, by which time he felt as if he should be walking with a brain filled with needles sticking out.

It was a week from hell for Scorpius, he spent every scrap of spare time he could trying to get Occlumency down except for Quidditch practices that Maurice advised he keep up with to give himself a break. His head was in a perpetual state of piercing pain, making it difficult to concentrate in classes as well as to clear his mind like he should be, he also struggled to sleep with it so he was exhausted on top of that. His teachers started to pick up on his unrest even, some took him to one side and encouraged him to not stress so much about his OWLs, he went with it and was given a nice amount of extra time for the assignments he was neglecting for Occlumency which he was grateful for, Professor Ashain even excused him from the class to rest because he was so frightful looking by Friday. It also wasn't until Thursday that Michael was allowed out of the Hospital Wing, it had been a particularly stressful full moon he'd guess. It was only then that he could tell him about Rutherford.

"Rutherford's an evil bastard," Scorpius began and Michael's eyes bulged in frightful terror.

"What? Why?" Michael asked worriedly and looked oddly relieved when Scorpius explained about trying to read his mind, "What? I don't think its evil, severely misguided. I wouldn't call Albus' Dad evil but he's also against us, a lot of people are against Varanian. I can give you something for the pain in your head, maybe it'll help learn Occlumency in time."

And the frustrating thing was he'd still had no luck, even with diminished pain and using Leebin's technique to clear his mind of worries. It seemed to delay Maurice or Molly's assaults slightly but that didn't even last a minute, it was hard to keep your mind clear once people were starting to probe it. If a thought didn't pop into his head then he'd feel panic and they'd get in, trying too hard not to also became a thought which got them in. His friends - except Maurice - were all advising him to rest and not push himself so hard but he couldn't help it, he was desperate and panicked. This wasn't the ideal mental state to be in for Occlumency he knew. Maurice could do it though, naturally. He'd also tried warning Varanian but got no reply, he wasn't even sure his message had been received. It was hopeless, he didn't stand a chance against Rutherford. Rutherford was going to rip open his mind and tear him apart to get to Varanian, yet again Scorpius did more harm than good.

"What am I going to do?" Scorpius asked of none of his friends in particular on the morning of his detention with Rutherford, heading down to breakfast. Not that he was hungry, he thought he might just vomit, "I can't do this, Rutherford's going to get into my mind."

"Are you sure he's not already there?" Albus wondered jokingly and Scorpius threw him a dark look, "Just trying to lighten the mood."

"Do you think I should just not go? Hide?"

"Yeah, I'm sure he'll just let it slide and never try to find you or punish you for running or anything."

"Well what's your suggestion!?"

"Well erm... you could err... try doing something really bad and get expelled, he can't read your mind if you're not in Hogwarts anymore," Albus offered and sighed, "I'm sorry that's a stupid idea."

"If it really comes down to it then maybe I have to," Scorpius shrugged unhappily, "Least Aaron would be safe, I could help out all the time at least with one of his wands."

"Here's a crazy idea, have you tried telling someone?" Michael wondered curiously, "You know, like a teacher or Calderon."

"They wouldn't be able to do anything even if they did believe me."

"What about Elwood then? Surely the Headmaster has power over Rutherford if he saw the need for it."

"He wouldn't believe me."

"He might if his favorite hero's son is there," Michael commented and they paused in their tracks, "What do you actually have to lose?"

Scorpius supposed he really didn't have anything to lose, Elwood wasn't at the table for breakfast though so they left Michael to tell the others of their plan and headed to his office instead as he might be there. If not, he had no idea. It occurred to him after they got there that they didn't know the password to get into his office, however Albus started guessing random things associated with his father and sure enough 'Godric's Hollow' - the birthplace of Harry Potter apparently - had the gargoyle jumping aside to allow them entry. As they went up the spiral staircase, Scorpius wondered if it was normal to have been into the Headmaster's office as much as he had so far. They reached the top of the stairs and went over to rap on the door.

"Come in," Elwood's voice called and they entered, surprise trying to shine through on his scarred face as he saw them, "What are you two doing here? How did you know the password?"

"Err... Lucky guess," Scorpius brushed it off as they approached the Headmaster, moving through the incredibly neat room. Elwood was sitting at his desk and apparently about to eat his breakfast of eggs, sausage and toast in the shape of a smiley face, "We really needed to talk to you about something important."

"Well alright, I guess," Elwood sighed and shrugged, he gestured for them to sit as he leaned back with a despondent expression, "What can I do for the youngest son of the greatest wizard in the world and err... you, Mr Malfoy?"

"It's about Rutherford," Scorpius blurted out, too tired to do anything other than cut to the chase, "I had a detention with him."

"Well then don't break the rules, he's perfectly entitled to give you detentions for that," Elwood offered as he idly turned the smile of the smiley face upside down to make it a sad face, "I can give you a list of his guidelines on rules if you're unclear on what kind of behavior is acceptable and unacceptable in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"That's not my point! He used Legilimency on me," Scorpius told him and to his surprise, Elwood laughed.

"Oh come on, my boy, using Legilimency on students against their will is illegal. If you want to get out of detention, at least think of plausible excuses."

"It's true!"

"Mr Malfoy, Rutherford is an employee of the _Ministry_ of_ Magic_."

"So?"

"So, people form the Ministry of Magic don't break laws," Elwood told him as if it was obvious, "They're the good guys, I understand you may not know this considering your parentage but it's true."

"I know they're the bloody-"

"But it's true, Sir," Albus interrupted Scorpius' angry snap and Elwood's good eye bulged, even the drooped eyelid flickered slightly.

"Did he use it on you?" Elwood asked as he sat forward, immediately concerned.

"No. But Scor is my friend, he's not lying about this."

"Oh right," Elwood muttered and leaned back, returning to his dour expression and looked back to his food as he stabbed the yolk eyes with his fork, the egg oozing down like falling tears, "Well true or not, it really doesn't matter. I can't do anything about it."

"You're the Headmaster!" Scorpius snapped at him, realizing he was coming across as rude but thankfully Elwood didn't seem to notice as he sighed.

"You know I wanted to be Headmaster so I could follow in the footsteps of the great Albus Dumbledore because I'm not smart or talented enough to be an Auror, I was only a Hufflepuff. Now I'm not even really the Headmaster at all."

"So... You don't have the power to stop Rutherford being alone in a detention with me and reading my mind?"

"I have the power to override him technically but then he'd just tell the Ministry, I'd be fired and they'd just replace me with someone who would agree with him. Or make him the Headmaster. I can't do anything."

"Elwood, you said you wanted to be Headmaster to be like Albus Dumbledore," Albus pointed out incredulously and Elwood looked back up to him, "So _be_ like Albus Dumbledore! What do you think he'd do in this situation?!"

"Sleep," Elwood offered and gestured to the sleeping portraits all around him, including his friend's namesake much to Albus' chagrin as he sighed.

"So there's really nothing you can do?"

"If it really is true then you need proof, it is illegal and if it was proven then he could be arrested so no one would have detention with him anymore. The word of a erm... traumatically challenged youth won't hold up against an upstanding Ministry official."

"How do we get proof?" Albus prompted of Elwood desperately, the Headmaster looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Hmm... Well I erm... Well I don't know," Elwood admitted and Albus looked ready to smack his head against the table, "Sorry."

"Well thanks for that."

"Really? I was helpful?" Elwood wondered, looking suddenly hopeful.

"Err... No, I was being sarcastic. Sorry," Albus apologized and Elwood leaned back, his gloomy mood returning.

"Was that all?"

"Yes."

"Then you two may go, just behave yourselves," Elwood waved them off and they left without another word.

"Well that was useful," Albus complained as they left, "Bloody idiot, he is."

"And now we're screwed," Scorpius realized aloud.

Scorpius skipped breakfast entirely, getting Maurice and Molly to come to the Room That Doesn't Exist for a list ditch desperate attempt to master Occlumency in time. They worked all through the morning and also missed out on lunch to practice but all for nothing, his skull felt like it was about to implode and he couldn't resist for more than thirty seconds.

"We should take you to the Hospital Wing, maybe... maybe Marigold could write you a sick note for your headache?" Molly offered as they left as the time of detention was nearly upon them.

"Are you kidding?" Maurice shot at her as if it were the dumbest idea he'd ever heard, "Then he'd be bedridden in the Hospital Wing, a sitting duck for Rutherford."

"Well at least he wouldn't be in pain anymore.

"How about if I jumped off this staircase?" Scorpius wondered, putting a hand to his throbbing head.

"Killing yourself is not the answer!"

"Hey Malfoy!" Lenore called in her usual drawl as she stepped out in front of them to block their path, Maurice's face lit up despite the situation while Scorpius scowled irritably at her. Besides, wasn't she supposed to be having her apparation test today which was where Latimer was, "Figure out what to do about Rutherford yet?"

"No," Scorpius growled irritably and she smirked, "Does that amuse you too?!"

"Yep," Lenore commented and threw something at him, he reacted with Seeker reflexes and caught the vial, he looked at it in confusion, "You're welcome."

"What's this?"

"Polyjuice Potion," Lenore told him as she turned and left, "You owe me, Malfoy."

* * *

**Part 3: **Hear and Now

* * *

"Isn't she the greatest?" Maurice sighed and stared after her dreamily.

"How do we even know for sure that's Polyjuice Potion?" Molly wondered what Scorpius was thinking with a frown.

"Yeah, if this is from the black market then it could be anything," Scorpius agreed and Maurice scowled himself as he took the vial from him, "It's hardly trustworthy."

"Gee, you two make it sound like you don't trust her or something," Maurice complained before letting go of his necklace to inspect the vial, unstopping the bubbling mud-looking liquid and giving it a sniff as well, "Well it looks like Polyjuice and smells like Polyjuice, I say we go for it."

"I don't think we should trust her," Scorpius protested but Maurice had already started walking into the nearest boy's bathroom with them both following, thankfully it was empty. Maurice put a hand back to his necklace and Scorpius went on, "I'm not so sure that we should risk it, we don't know where that stuff came from."

"I disagree and since I'm the one who actually has to take the potion, I think my opinion trumps yours. I trust my girlfriend and this seems legitimate," Maurice insisted and Scorpius sighed tiredly as he rubbed his still aching head, he supposed Maurice had a point but he still didn't want to risk his friend's safety, "Besides, what have we got to lose? There's no time."

"Fine," Scorpius agreed reluctantly.

"Good. Start stripping."

"What?!"

"You're taller than me, when I turn into you my clothes won't fit me properly anymore which will look suspicious to Rutherford. And I'll need to add a piece of you to the potion, pluck a hair or you could spit in it."

"Why don't I go get Al's Invisibility Cloak?" Molly asked uncomfortably as Maurice took off his cloak and started unbuttoning his sleeves, "You know because two Scorpius' walking around would probably alert Rutherford to the fact something's up."

"Good idea. And a change of clothes would be good too," Scorpius added and Molly nodded before hurrying away.

Scorpius still felt uncomfortable undressing in front of other people, he still closed the drapes when getting changed in the dormitory so headed for a cubicle. Maurice took off his shirt as he moved, revealing the layers of scarring from blood quills all across his chest, arms, shoulders and back. Like on his hands, overlapping letters and numbers of different sizes at random angles covering him entirely like he'd seen in Roman's memory when he'd discovered the treatment of his son. He could even make out the skeletal snake symbol the Shadows used underlaid on his back, he had a fresher brand on his chest and both actually seemed to be writhing in his flesh but scars didn't do that... Did they? He continued on to the cubicle and glanced at his own scarred hands, feeling somewhat guilty for being concerned over them compared to what Maurice had.

"The clothes, Scorpius?" Maurice wondered and Scorpius started tossing them over the door as he stripped to his underwear, until he heard the door open and felt a jab of panic.

"I'm back," Molly called and he relaxed before feeling a flood of embarrassment that he was standing in his underwear with his girlfriend on the other side of the door.

"Clothes, please?" Scorpius asked meekly and she - or Maurice, he supposed - slid them under the door for him and he rushed to put them on.

"Hurry up or I'll be late for your detention," Maurice complained just as Scorpius finished and came back out, seeing Maurice now dressed in his clothes which were noticeably too long especially at the legs. Molly was standing beside him holding the Invisibility Cloak, Maurice had unstopped the vial again and shoved it out to Scorpius while his free hand clutched around his translator necklace, "Spit in it."

"What?! That's disgusting!"

"I told you, I need a piece of you for it to work and it has to be taken from a living person. Spit, hair, nail clippings, dandruff. Do you have dandruff?"

"Just do it, Scor," Molly offered looking somewhat off put, "Be glad you're not the one who has to drink it."

"Fine," Scorpius sighed and feeling somewhat disgusted, spat into the bubbly muddy liquid. To his surprise, it changed the second his spit touched it and became a brilliant shade of silver, "Are you sure you're okay with this, Maurice? Is it supposed to change color like that?"

"It changes color once the part of the person is added and that varies depending on the person and yes, I'm sure. I can handle Rutherford," Maurice told him determinedly before taking a swig from the vial, he corked it and pocketed it, "Hmm... Tasted better than I thought it would."

It almost seemed like Maurice had spoken too soon though as his face immediately drained of color, he staggered back and looked as if he was about to throw up. He grabbed a side of the cubicle to keep himself upright, gasping as his skin started to ripple. It was almost as if it was liquid, bubbling waves seeping down his flesh that started to grow. His arms lengthened to fit the sleeves, his height increased to be on par with Scorpius. White-blond erupted through and engulfed Maurice's light brown hair, his soft features sharpened before Scorpius' eyes and Maurice blinked. When he opened his eyes, Scorpius found himself staring into his own gray orbs. Scorpius couldn't help but gape, it was like looking in mirror except his reflection was three-dimensional and living. The potion had even given Maurice the small scar Scorpius had on his chin, in fact all his scars seemed have replicated and Maurice's were gone.

"Wow, it worked," Scorpius breathed.

To his immense surprise, Maurice shrieked and leaped back from him as if burned. His hands smacked over his ears as he started breathing unhealthily rapidly, an expression of horror was seeping onto his face as he backed away. He and Molly both took confused steps towards him and he yelped again, backing away faster until he hit the wall and instead slumped to the ground. Maurice looked... Maurice looked _afraid_ or well Maurice looked like Scorpius but still afraid. He didn't think he'd ever seen Maurice look terrified before, they tried to go towards him again and he scrambled back into the corner while still clutching his ears.

"Are you okay?" Molly wondered with concern, hovering back uncertainly.

"Maurice, what's wrong?" Scorpius asked worriedly even though Maurice wasn't touching his translator necklace... wait.

"Shut up! Shut up! Both of you shut up!" Maurice snapped at them, his voice also now sounding like Scorpius. He whimpered fearfully and seemed to press his hands against his ears harder.

"Maurice, can... can you _hear_ right now?"

"You need to calm down, deep breaths," Molly added as he continued to breathe shakily as they approached incredibly slowly and cautiously, crouching to his level.

"I said shut up," Maurice insisted with more force but quietly, one hand shot down though and he wrenched his translator necklace from his neck. He kept it clutched in his grasp as he put the hand back to covering his ear, he spoke in a whisper as if trying to make as little sound as possible, "I-I made a mist- I made a mistake, I-I miscalculated. I didn't think... I didn't think it... I didn't think it would..."

"That it would make you hear?" Scorpius guessed, trying to speak quietly to not scare him more and the gray orbs darted to him.

"Yes. Ass-Assuming that's what this assault is called, I never... never experienced anything like it," Maurice explained and sounded on the verge of tears, "I hate it. Make it stop. I can't do this."

"Yes you can, sounds are normal."

"They're not normal for me!" Maurice protested and yelped in panic, jumping back up as a gust of wind battered the window above him and he moved away in terror while they stood after him.

"That's just the wind, its okay," Molly assured him gently but Maurice didn't look the slightest bit comforted, "What other sounds are freaking you out? It's nothing to worry about."

"I don't know what's causing what sounds, I can't understand what you're saying without my necklace because I don't know what noise means what thing. When I breathe there's noise or when you two do, when any of us move there's noise, when I speak there's this noise and when you do, there's noise when water falls from that faucet, there's that noise you said is wind. I hate it, I hate this noise, I hate it. It's strange and wrong and uncomfortable and... and actually... well scary. I'm just... just going to try get to the Room That Doesn't Exist and... and think of complete soundproof place and just... just hide there until this is over."

"Maurice, you can't do that," Scorpius insisted feeling panicked himself now and stepping in front of Maurice as he tried to move to the door, "What about Rutherford? The potion worked, you look like me and you need to stop him reading my mind. Your mind. You know what I mean."

"Well I'm sorry but I can't do this. I can't."

Just after that the door to the boy's bathroom opened, Molly whipped out her wand and sent a vibrant burst of light to the door that slammed it back shut before the boy could enter. Maurice recoiled in terror at the noise and hit the wall again, sliding back down and compressing his ears even more as he brought his knees up to his chest. Scorpius could see the knuckles were white from Maurice gripping so hard.

"I want to use the toilet!" a boy's whined from the other side of the door, rattling the handle loud enough to cause Maurice to start hyperventilating again.

"Err... It's busy right now, come back later," Molly called back to the boy and Maurice started rocking slightly. There was a slight pause before he heard a sigh and the boy's footsteps receded, Molly slowly lowered her wand, "We really need to get a move on before someone misses Rutherford's detention."

"Look, Maurice," Scorpius began gently and quietly as he knelt to his friend's level, finding it eerie to see his own eyes meet his but continued regardless, "I know this must be hard but you have to do this, you're the only one who can. You just need to go to the detention with Rutherford, he'll probably make you write some lines first - in silence, just you and him with no interruption - then repel his attempts to read your mind and you can go hide in the Room until it wears off."

"I can't," Maurice whispered but seemed to be trying to take deeper breaths to calm himself.

"C'mon, you've been through much worse than hearing. You've been tortured, been branded, fought off multiple Shadows at once… This is just sound."

"I'd rather be doing any of those things right now."

"If you don't do this then Rutherford could get through Scorpius' mind and get to Varanian. He, Wyatt and _your own father_ could be captured and killed. Do you really want that to happen?"

"No."

"Maurice," Molly said strictly as she also crouched by him and he met her eyes instead, "You're a soldier. What would a solider do in this situation?"

"Face Rutherford," Maurice admitted after a moment of thought and his eyes took on some hint of determination although his face remained fearful, he took a deep breath and slowly stood.

"We can stay with you if it'd make you feel better. Under the cloak."

"You can't, a good Legilimens can sense the presence of minds not hidden by Occlumency. The cloak only hides you physically, not mentally."

"He didn't detect us when we saw him threatening Leebin last year," Scorpius pointed out.

"That was for a short period of time though, if its anything like your last detention then you'd be in the room for him for a lot longer so he'd most likely notice," Maurice told him and took another deep breathe as if trying to calm himself, "I... I will be a good solider."

"Okay, let's go. And... And try not to clutch your ears so much."

"Get under the cloak," Molly added and tossed Scorpius the Invisibility Cloak, he quickly covered himself as they followed Maurice to the door.

Maurice took another deep breath and cautiously lowered his hands from his ears before finally opening the door and stepping out, they followed. Maurice's hands jerked back up as if to cover his ears again but seemingly forced himself to lower them, he still looked petrified though as they started off. Scorpius was starting to doubt their plan would work, Maurice may look and sound like him but he didn't act like him. He jumped at every sound - the wind against windows, portraits talking, footsteps and voices of people they passed in the corridor, all normal things - and his hands seemed to constantly be fighting the urge to hold his ears to try block out the noise of the world around them. Plus he still had his translator necklace gripped in hand because he didn't recognize the sound of words. Would Rutherford really buy that Maurice was Scorpius? And what if the Potion ran out? Maurice still had the vial but Rutherford could notice him trying to drink it. Maurice was clearly disturbed, would he even be able to perform Occlumency when he was upset?

"Ah, Mr Malfoy, there you are," Rutherford commented as they reached his office, he was just stepping out and glanced at Maurice, "I was just starting to think you weren't coming."

"No, I... I'm here," Maurice said, still speaking very quietly which had Rutherford's features twist in a slight scowl. Scorpius resisted the urge to sigh, it was too late to change their plans now.

"And Miss Weasley, what are you doing here?"

"Me? Just seeing Scorpius off to his detention," Molly offered semi-truthfully while Scorpius stayed frozenly in place under the cloak, "He's my boyfriend."

"Well he's here, you may go now."

"Right. Good luck," Molly nodded to Maurice and reluctantly left, Rutherford watched her go and only looked back to Maurice once she'd rounded the bend.

"Come on then, Mr Malfoy, inside for more lines," Rutherford told Maurice and stepped aside, gesturing for him to go into the room which Maurice hesitantly did, "And relax, there's no need to look so afraid."

Rutherford followed Maurice into his office and closed the door behind him, Scorpius heard a click just after to indicate he'd locked the door this time. Scorpius sighed and headed off, staying under the cloak until he'd reached the Room That Doesn't Exist where Molly was waiting for him. He was reminded oddly of the Burrow in the sense had the same cozy feel, however it wasn't cluttered and chaotic. There was a burnt orange couch before a fire with a quilted blanket thrown over it, there was a patchwork rug over the rustic floorboards and the walls were a foggy gray. It was interesting to see what the room looked like at Molly's behest, she gave him a tired smile as he went over and sat by her.

"Now what?" Molly asked him and he truly noticed the rings beneath her eyes for the first time, she'd also been pushing herself quite hard to help him learn Occlumency as had Maurice.

"Now we wait," Scorpius sighed as he leaned back, rubbing his still aching head and wishing he was in the room with Maurice seeing how things were going.

"Well either way at least your poor head gets a break," Molly pointed out as she ran her hand through his hair idly, he found it oddly soothing.

"And you can rest too. I don't think I ever thanked you for taking the time to help with this, I know Legilimency probably isn't easy."

"It is pretty tiring, Maurice says I'm actually getting it pretty well," Molly told him with a yawn and continued toying with his hair gently, he leaned closer to her and back against the incredibly comfortable couch, "It's worth it to protect Varanian though, NEWTs aren't as important as the war."

"I still want to learn Occlumency even if this works out perfectly with Rutherford," Scorpius said as his eyes flickered shut unknowingly as he wondered how it was going in detention, he wished he'd been able to stay to see how it went, "But maybe pace it a bit better."

"I think that's a good idea."

Scorpius would've thought sleep would be the last thing he'd be capable of when he was worrying about Maurice's detention with Rutherford, however he found he must've slipped into slumber. Feeling safe with Molly and his exhaustion of the week's intense training had to have caught up with him though because he was jolted awake hours later by the sound of his own voice.

"How can you two be sleeping at a time like this?!" his voice demanded and Scorpius shot up to see himself standing there, clearly Maurice was still under the effects of the Polyjuice Potion.

"Why? Did... Did it go badly with Rutherford?" Scorpius asked worriedly as Molly rubbed her eyes.

"What? No, it went fine," Maurice explained and slumped down onto an armchair that hadn't been there before, "He couldn't get into my mind, I think he thought it was a little suspicious but he was going to think that anyway even if you had mastered Occlumency in a week."

"Then why the panic?" Molly wondered while Scorpius let out a relieved breath.

"Because the potion hasn't worn off yet, I can still hear. Besides, how can you both sleep while I'm off defending my mind from Rutherford?!"

"We're tired, it's been a long week. When does the potion wear off?"

"I don't know, you have to ask Lenore. Depending on how high quality it is, it can last anywhere from ten minutes to twelve hours. It's lasted unwaveringly all afternoon so far, I'm probably going to miss dinner. I hope I don't get stuck like this."

"Well I'll go ask Lenore when we should expect it to wear off," Scorpius offered.

"Thank you."

"But I was thinking even though this works, that you should keep teaching me Occlumency just in case. Except not every second of spare time, at a more reasonable pace. Maybe the others too in case he starts on them when he realizes he can't get into my mind."

"There's too many of you, even with me and Molly using Legilimency and then we need to worry about including August as he's been to the hideout or the Ashain kids," Maurice shook his head before pausing thoughtfully, "Maybe just people who know the actual location though since they're the ones putting Varanian at risk. That's just you and Michael, right?"

"And me," Molly spoke up, "Varanian told me so I could apparate there. I was going to tell Lat so he could apparate there too in case we need to, he has his apparation test today. Actually, it's probably already over by now if you're done with detention."

"Well don't tell Latimer, I'll try teach him too and if he has success then tell him. Keeping the secret is more important than being able to get there right now. Michael especially needs to get on it, Polyjuice won't work on a werewolf."

"Cassia knows as well," Scorpius pointed out, "I had to tell her so she could direct the vultures to deliver letters to him in the past, I think Antonius does too although I don't think Rutherford would go after them as they're so young, not students and children of an Auror."

"I wouldn't put it past him. In fact they're most vulnerable because he wouldn't be able to give the detention, he'd just pull them to one side and get them," Maurice said with a sigh and buried his face in his hands, "But we do have a working plan at least and there's enough Polyjuice left for tomorrow's detention especially if it lasts this long. You'll need to ask Lenore for more because we're still a few weeks away from our own Polyjuice being ready. Oh Merlin, I have to go through this again tomorrow."

"I'll go talk to her now," Scorpius offered and quickly checked the map to locate 'Lenore Callaway' in the Library before heading off, thankfully she was sitting alone in the corner and he sat beside her, "Hey Lenore."

"Hey," Lenore said without looking up from the long essay she was writing that seemed to be about Transfiguration, "Guess who got their apparation license?"

"I don't care. And it erm... It worked," Scorpius began awkwardly, glancing around to make sure they were quite alone.

"I know," Lenore commented as if it were obvious before finally looking up at him with a smirk, "Why? Did you doubt me, Malfoy?"

"When will it wear off?"

"Twelve hours. It's good quality, my uncle made sure to get the best," Lenore told him and apparently decided to let her question of trust remain unanswered, "That's fifty Galleons you owe me by the way."

"Fifty?!" Scorpius burst out in shock and Lenore pressed a finger to her lips.

"Shh, you need to be quiet in the Library."

"But_ fifty_?"

"Black market's expensive. Plus there's the cost of my uncle having to waste his precious time getting it, my uncle having to risk his freedom since this isn't the most legal endeavor... Hmm... Maybe fifty is actually a little on the cheap side."

"I'll need at least another two weeks worth, that'd be a hundred and fifty Galleons."

"And?" Lenore wondered, "It's not like you can't afford it coming from such a rich family, one that _didn't_ have their wealth stripped from them after the Second Wizarding War because they changed sides. And if you _can't_ afford it... well, I guess Rutherford will get into your head after all."

"Fine, I'll get you the money," Scorpius agreed reluctantly as he didn't see much of a choice and Lenore's smirk returned, "Just get me some more potion."

"Will do. But just out of curiosity, why are you so desperate to keep him out of your head that you'd resort to the Black Market?"

"That's none of your business. Why are you so willing to resort to the Black Market to help someone you barely know for reasons you don't even know?"

"That's none of your business," Lenore countered with a disinterested shrug, "And if you want more potion, I need the money first to pay for it so..."

"Fine. I'll get you your blood money."


	4. Chapter 4: Boys, Girls and Shadows

_**Parts (12-15)**_

* * *

**V  
**

**Chapter 4  
**

Boys, Girls and Shadows

* * *

**Part 1:** A Day of Knight

* * *

Byron Knight was awakened by the sounds of his roommates getting up, his stomach was already twisting itself into knots and he felt as if he was rubbing sandpaper across his eyeballs as the heavy lids dragged off them. He had the drapes closed around him, casting an emerald glow as the sunlight shone through the fabric. The light had already been there when he'd finally gotten to sleep although dimmer, a sure sign he hadn't slept much and why he felt so tired. However his eyes felt glued open already as the feeling of dread filled him, he made no attempt to join his roommates in getting up and instead waited for the sounds of their receding footsteps before making his move.

He threw off the blankets and awkwardly pulled his body up into a sitting position, he sighed wistfully as he gazed at the empty space where his legs should be. He had maybe a little less than half a thigh left on one leg and a little over half a thigh left on his other leg, it still wasn't the same and the first thing he had to do was pull on his magical aluminum prosthetics. At least he was finally getting the hang of walking with them. He opened the drapes and sat there on the edge of the bed trembling as he tried to work up the courage to face the day, or rather the courage to face James Potter. His body ached all over from the bruises, the odd cut from the edge of James' boots. He glanced at the bedside table to the picture of his family, his parents alive and smiling with his elder brother, Kenelm, and his younger happier self with real legs and no scars.

His father had been killed when the Soul Eater's werewolf army had attacked Hogsmeade where they lived, his mother had been bitten and turned into a werewolf herself and was dead now too. Suicide. She'd preferred to die instead of living with her condition, he wondered if it would have made a difference if she'd have lived to see the werewolf bracelet law abolished and PAW destroyed. Or even if they'd been home with her instead of Hogwarts, would it have made a difference to know she had children who loved her and needed her? Kenelm had found her, he'd visited her every Hogsmeade visit but Byron was too young to go on those. Kenelm was devastated but Byron liked to think she was with his father now, that they were both happy together again like in the picture. He wished he was with them.

He wiped the tears from his eyes and shakily went out to the bathroom to use the toilet and brush his teeth, his insides felt as if they were twisting up painfully as he was reminded every action brought him closer to having to leave the safety of the Slytherin Common Rooms to where James could get to him. He finished up and headed for the exit but had to change direction, racing instead to a cubicle and throwing himself down to retch instead as the vomit was ripped from his guts. He fell back when he was done and wiped the bile with the back of his hand, this was yet another reason to avoid getting up at the same time as his roommates. He was sick with dread most mornings, he thought it was quite disgusting and shameful. He was pathetic, he knew, absolutely pathetic. It was no wonder James picked on him, he hated himself now. He picked himself up and flushed before going to wash up, he couldn't believe he'd once been dying to go to Hogwarts.

Byron got dressed into his Slytherin robes, almost wishing he hadn't encouraged the hat to put him in Slytherin instead of Hufflepuff like it had originally wanted but then he wouldn't be in his parents' house and that was important to him. Especially now they were gone. He'd missed breakfast of course but he'd rather be hungry then run the risk of meeting James, it was safer to wait until he'd already be in classes. On the days James actually had classes first thing anyway, he wasn't even sure he'd be able to keep breakfast down. The downside was that it made him late for his classes, unfortunately he had Charms first thing. He slung his book back over his shoulder and left his dormitory on trembling legs, wishing he could turn invisible as he crept through the Common Room and out into the dungeons. His eyes snapped in every direction for sign of James or his gang but the corridors were blissfully empty and he made it to Charms untouched.

"Knight!" Grant bellowed angrily and rounded on him the second he'd entered, Byron jumped despite himself and stared at the floor fearfully, "You're late! Again!"

"I'm sorry, Sir," Byron whimpered, Grant had it out for Slytherins and scared him more than slightly. He kept his eyes glued to the ground, where he could see the shadow of Grant towering over him but he was too much of a pathetic coward to raise his head to face the owner of the booming voice.

"You're here to learn! Not to sleep in, you lazy lout! That's another ten points from Slytherin! How many times do I have to tell you?! Do you enjoy being told off?! Do you enjoy losing points for your house?!"

"No, Sir."

"Everyone has to be here for classes that start at nine! Not five minutes past, not ten minutes past, not quarter of an hour past but nine on the dot! What makes you think you're the exception to the rule?! You think because you're a Slytherin that you're entitled to show up whatever time you want?! You think because you have no legs that it's an excuse for being late?!"

"I'm sorry, Sir."

"And look at me when I'm talking to you!" Grant yelled and Byron felt his knees knocking together as he raised his head fearfully, "Don't let it happen again. We're still working on the Engorgement Charm, take your seat and get to practicing. It's a double lesson so I expect to see some progress by the end of it."

"Yes, Sir," Byron agreed and Grant nodded for him to go.

He went and sat in the seat Pol had saved him, Pollux Koray was his only friend or the closest thing he had to one. He was unfortunately a Ravenclaw so they only had Charms, Herbology and Astronomy together, nor could they sit together at meals or hang out in the safety of the Slytherin Dungeons together which was were Byron spent all his free time to be away from James. People didn't want to be friends with him lest they incur the wrath of James Potter even if they didn't think he was a worthless loser, everyone except Pol. His father was the Astronomy professor after all, he wasn't afraid of James because he could just go to his Dad if he tried anything which James was well aware of as he'd never laid a hand on him.

"You need to tell someone, Byron," Pol said as he pulled out his things hand half-heartedly started working on the spell.

"Tell somewhat what?" Byron wondered tiredly, his gritty eyes having trouble focusing on the task at hand.

"About James' abuse," Pol began and Byron rolled his eyes, "I'm serious! You can't keep being late to classes just to avoid him, you can't concentrate even when you're in them and you skip meals, don't sleep. He's put you in the Hospital Wing twice already and we're not even back two months yet, you have to tell someone."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Byron lied and refused to look at his friend.

"James Potter beating the crap out of you."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh yeah? Then why do you look exhausted and some of the bruises on your wrists are showing," Pol informed him and Byron dropped his wand in panic to check his wrists, he didn't see anything though, "So you do have bruises."

"Can you just drop it?" Byron pleaded as he picked his wand back up.

James just hurt him worse if he got in trouble and besides, who was going to believe a worthless orphan over the firstborn son of Harry Potter, the greatest hero of the wizarding world? He was a Slytherin, their word was mud anyway. According to James they weren't even human, if Harry Potter shared that belief - which he probably did, it was likely where James got it from - then he'd probably be the one at fault instead of James. He wished James would just leave him alone.

"Fine but just think about it, okay?" Pol told him, "You can't keep living like this."

"Knight!" Grant barked and Byron jumped in surprise, managing to topple off his stool and collide painfully with the ground in the process. The class howled with laughter except Pol who wordlessly helped him up and fixed his stool for him, he muttered a thank you, "Maybe if you were paying more attention then you wouldn't fall so easily."

"I'm sorry, Sir," Byron apologized as he sat, hanging his head in hopes his shoulder-length brown hair would cover the red tinge of humiliation on his cheeks.

"What did I tell you about looking at me when I'm talking to you?!" Grant snapped at him and Byron forced his head to rise once more to see Grant had taken out his own wand, "If you can stop chatting to Mr Koray for five seconds, I thought it might interest you to know what you're doing the wand movement wrong. Pay attention now because I won't repeat myself again."

Byron nodded tiredly and tried to focus on getting the charm right, thankfully he did and was spared the wrath of Grant for failing. Charms wasn't his favorite class but thankfully after break it was Herbology, he and Pol went straight to the greenhouses as it was safer to be around Longbottom. Byron liked Longbottom, he had a prosthetic arm and it made him feel somewhat comforted that he wasn't the only amputee in the world. Longbottom mistook their early arrival to the class as enthusiasm for the subject, they let him believe that as he seemed happy to chat away to them about the plants they'd be learning about today. He did like Herbology although it would be nicer if not everything they studied seemed to want to kill them, they were pruning Shrivelfigs today which was interesting enough although he felt his insides starting to shrivel up as the time grew closer to lunch.

He felt the dread creeping through him as Longbottom dismissed them for lunch, he had to bid Pol goodbye and go sit at his allocated spot. He actually didn't mind the seating plan, he had no friends in his own house and it kept his brother from nagging him to eat more or asking if James was still bullying him, nagging him to tell someone. Byron picked at his food, too fearful to feel hunger but knowing he was obligated to eat since he'd likely skip dinner. His eyes kept drifting to the Gryffindor table where James sat, stabbing angrily at his food. None of his gang sat with him now thanks to the seating plan, he thought James was rather ticked off about it. Which just made him more angry and volatile leaving meals. James caught his eye and glared murderously at him as if it was somehow his fault, knowing James it probably was. He turned back to his food and stayed there, not wanting to look back up at the eyes he could feel boring into his skull. He took his time eating and only left when the bell rang to indicate the end of lunch, walking as fast as he dared to get up to Transfiguration, he was almost there...

"Hey!" James' voice called and Byron froze fearfully, glancing up to see James standing in front of him with his arms folded and a smirk on his freckled face. Byron turned to run but the rest of his gang stepped behind him, except for the muscular one who had saved him before, "Trying to slither away like the slimy coward you are, eh? You're pathetic."

"I know, I suck. Please... Please leave me alone now," Byron pleaded as he turned back to James as the older boy strode towards him menacingly.

"You dare order around the firstborn son of Harry Potter?!"

James jabbed his wand at him as he spoke, Byron was struck by a spell and thrown back into a door to an unused classroom. He barely had time to register his clothes were now gone as hitting the door had knocked a bucket free, a thick translucent goo with a yellowish tinge to it immediately sloshed onto him. The bucket landed on his head, causing his vision to go black while he heard the howls of James' friends laughing at him. He started to feel soft things hitting him and tried to push them away but realized they were feathers, they were sticking to the goo he was covered in. He gave up defending himself from the onslaught of feathers and instead attempted to get the bucket off his head but it was stuck, he could hear them laughing harder and he almost wanted to stay under the bucket to hide away from it all.

"There! Now you look like the chicken you are!" James taunted as his cruel laughter joined the fray.

Byron felt something strike his bucket which had him fall to the ground, further disorientating him and he wasn't sure which way was which as he staggered back to his feet awkwardly. The gooey glue seemed to be making his prosthetics stick, which just earned more laughter. And then he heard shrill laughter from girls to his horror, other people had come across him. He jerked his aluminum legs into a run to try get away from them, which was difficult considering he still had a bucket on his head and couldn't see where he was or where he was going. He just heard more laughter as he ran, each sound stinging through his soul to let humiliation flood him faster. He ran into a wall and fell back, resulting in more laughter and tears started to gather behind his eyelids as he scrambled to get up and away.

He ran and ran blindly while trying to yank the bucket off his head, only interrupted occasionally when he tripped and fell or hit a wall but the swirl of laughing didn't cease. He finally managed to wrench the bucket from his skull, he felt like he'd ripped out some of his hair too but he could finally see where he was going at least. He ran through the blur of tears to get back to the Slytherin Dungeons, tripped again and fled up to his empty dormitory. He finally got a glimpse of his appearance in the mirror, the goo had indeed been glue and there were feathers stuck all over his body from his neck to his prosthetics with his book bag still slung over his back which made him look like some kind of feathered hunchback with silver skeletal legs. He dropped to the ground with water streaming from his eyes as the laughter echoed inside his mind, hugging the cold metal legs and burying his face against the hard aluminum to cry. He missed having people legs.

He hated James Potter. He hated Hogwarts. He just wanted to go home. Or to his grandparents at least. Anywhere but be there. And now he had probably just glued his face to his arms. He pulled away with surprising ease and noticed grooves in the glue, it was washing off where his tears touched it. He picked himself up, using the bed for leverage against his sticking legs and hobbled out to shower off the glue and feathers. He was going to be late for his next lesson too anyway, he wished he could just stay there in the safe silent emptiness. He washed the glue and feathers off his book bag as well before getting redressed, at least his legs were working easier now the glue and feathers were gone. He headed back down and took a deep breath, his heart feeling like a caged bird fighting to get out.

He forced himself to leave though, the corridors were blissfully empty now so he could get to Transfiguration which they had with Hufflepuffs. Midas lectured him on the importance of punctuality for a full fifteen minutes before letting him sit down, they were turning beetles into buttons. She came around with a beetle trapped in a matchbox for them to try it one by one because it wasn't safe for them to practice magic all at once, Byron was one of the few who actually managed it thanks to advice from Pol. After that he hid amongst the Slytherins in his year to go to the final lesson of the day, some people passing made clucking noises at him and laughed. He hung his head in shame but thankfully didn't run into James before reaching the safety of Defense Against the Dark Arts, his brother's favorite class and teacher. Byron liked it although sometimes he found the practicals rather tiring as they tended to be on their feet, he settled down at the front thankfully he was just explaining he rules of dueling right now which he already knew as his brother had told him.

"Hey kid," the Gryffindor girl sitting beside him hissed and Byron looked up but he was addressing Ashain's kids sitting at a separate table near them, the little girl was listening to her dad and the boy scribbling down whatever work he was doing. A huge dog lay at their feet and there was a perch with a vulture on it beside the girl, "Ashain juniors."

"What?" Ashain's daughter wondered cheerfully, two pairs of dark chestnut orbs flicked towards the speaker.

"Can I see the scar? The one like Harry Potter?"

"No," Ashain's son snapped testily.

"How about after class?"

"No," the boy insisted fiercely and the Gryffindor girl sunk back into her seat pouting in annoyance while the boy went back to his work.

It remained a theory lesson, learning about dueling in preparation for trying it next week which everyone was looking forward to. He practically ran straight back to the Slytherin dormitory to ensure he didn't run into James and back to the safety of his dormitory, he got started on his homework and that kept him distracted until dinner. He didn't want to go to dinner but if he missed it too many times then his brother would start nagging him again, he waited until it was already into dinner time in the hopes James would already be there eating before working up the courage to leave the Slytherin Dungeons.

"Heya Chicken," a painfully familiar voice called.

He felt like dropping to his knees and sobbing even before he turned to see James, leaning against the wall in wait. He really had to start looking up from the ground when he walked more. A surprisingly strong arm gripped him and James hauled him into an empty room, shoving him violently to the ground. Byron tried to draw his wand but James was faster, he was disarmed before he'd even raised it and his prosthetics shot into opposite corners of the room. He felt incredible helpless and pathetic as James locked the door, he tried to drag himself away but James stomped a foot down on his face.

Byron whimpered in pain and raised his arms to protect his face as the beating began, James straddled him and hit him over and over, pummeling his arms and chest. He closed his eyes to block the tears as the blows rained down, wishing he was anyone but him as his bruises developed bruises. Finally, James seemed done and got off him. He started to let out a breath of relief as he rolled onto his side but James lashed out with a kick, catching the soft part of his stomach. And again. And again.

"And that'll teach you to try get my best friend expelled!" James yelled at him much to Byron's confusion, what the hell was he talking about? James drew him back to reality with another violent kick, "And for thinking something like you is better than the firstborn son of the greatest wizard in the world!"

"I don't think I ever did either of those things," Byron pointed out quietly and James kicked him again, he clutched his stomach in pain.

"Don't deny it, you lying snake!" James screamed and moved as if to kick him again, Byron flinched fearfully but James lowered his foot. Instead he spat on him, "You things make me sick! See you tomorrow."

On that, James stormed out and slammed the door behind him. Byron flinched at the sound and lay there in the dark, waiting to make sure he wasn't coming back. He pulled his aching body up and dragged himself along the ground in the direction his wand had been sent spiraling in, it was no wonder James called him a 'thing' when he was barely felt like a person now. He found his wand and levitated his legs back over to him, it hurt to breathe. He supposed he should be grateful in a way, at least his legs didn't hurt from the beating because he had none. He re-attached them and stood shakily, his stomach feeling rather ill now.

He trudged gloomily back to the Slytherin Dungeons, eying every bend for sign of James but thankfully it seemed the day was finally over. Everyone was still at dinner so he was alone, he changed into his pajamas and crawled into bed. He closed the drapes and pulled out his journal, writing down the misery of his day while his roommates returned, talking and laughing happily amongst themselves. Byron heard them getting ready for bed but kept focused on his writing, using the Wand-lighting Charm for light after they turned the main ones off. They were asleep by the time he finished and slipped the book back into the drawer, taking off his legs as he wasn't supposed to wear them when he slept. He picked up the picture of his parents and gazed wistfully at their smiling faces, tears pricking his eyes again.

"Goodnight Mum and Dad," Byron whispered to the picture and placed it back down, he'd give anything to be with them again. Away from Hogwarts, away from James, to just be safe and sound and whole with his parents again. Everything would be perfect and he could be happy.

He lay back down on the very comfortable bed, the pillows were soft and the blankets were warm against the chill in the autumn air. He was tired, his eyes stung from his lack of sleep and his aching body craved the blissful oblivion of slumber. But he couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned for hours, dread for having to go through everything with James again tomorrow. It was only when the light started to filter through the drapes that he finally succumbed to his exhaustion. He was awakened shortly by the sounds of his roommates getting up, his stomach was already twisting itself into knots and he felt as if he was rubbing sandpaper across his eyeballs as the heavy lids dragged off them and felt glued open already. The feeling of dread filled him, he made no move to join his roommates in getting up and instead waited for the sounds of their receding footsteps. He sighed miserably to hopelessness filled him, so it began again. Would it ever end?

* * *

"Okay, that's enough for now," Varanian decided and flicked his wand to vanish the targets he'd had Annie trying to hit.

"What? Why? I was just getting good," Annie complained somewhat breathlessly as they'd been out training for a while, "You're not scared of the dark, are you?"

"It's been dark for hours that's why Roman went back inside, it's going to be light soon," Varanian pointed out as he started back, Annie moved to follow but he held up a hand to stop her, "Use the Wand-Lighting Charm."

"Are you scared of the dark or do you just need glasses?"

"You need the practice."

"_Lumos_," Annie offered and flicked his wand up, the wand tip light up obediently but unfortunately right in her eyes. She jerked her wand away and blinked a few times at the blinding light.

"You're the one who's going to need glasses if you keep blinding yourself like that," he smirked at her and continued on, she hastened to keep up with him but matched his speed easily. His walking was improving but not enough to be free of the cane yet.

"Well I may blind myself but at least I don't have to use a cane."

"Well if you do blind yourself then you would need a cane."

"Ah, I guess hypothetically I would be screwed but you're the one screwed now so I can live with that," Annie commented as they reached the hideout, Roman's light was out indicating he'd gone to sleep and Wyatt was out, "So why the early night?"

"I wouldn't call the middle of the night early," Varanian insisted and headed down into his room, she followed, "I need to work on repairing my Portkey ring, the magical fire damaged it. If you really want you can practice some stuff down here."

"Fine. _Nox_," Annie agreed and put out the light in her wand successfully, he'd never met anyone who hated sleep as much as he did which he supposed wasn't healthy for either of them but they did get a lot of practice in, "I'll just get a drink."

"You don't need a drink," Varanian protested but she'd already run off, he wished she wouldn't drink so much.

He sighed and cleared the table for her to give her more space and set a large box of matchsticks down, Transfiguration wasn't something they'd done a lot of. He pulled up another chair and sat down on another chair facing the opposite direction, still waiting on the aggravating pain to come from touching anything but it didn't. It never did now, whatever Annie had done to him had worked amazingly well and he was grateful. She was alright once you got used to her. Not that it still didn't frustrate him to be stuck recovering while the Shadow War was going on outside, Wyatt, Dom and Aurelius shouldn't have to the ones gathering information. Not that there was much to gather with the action happening in Greece.

"So what we doing, Pip?" Annie questioned brightly as she came back down a bottle of beer in hand.

"Transfiguration," Varanian told her and gestured to the matchsticks, "I want you to turn all of them into needles."

"Wasn't getting one matchstick to turn enough?"

"No, you need to practice and you don't have the years everyone else has so get to it so you're cramming. Get to it."

"Ugh, I hate cramming," Annie complained but came over regardless and sat down, placing the beer beside her and taking her wand back out to start on them, "And what use is this anyway?"

"Transfiguration is useful."

"When am I ever going to need to turn matchsticks into needles?"

"Well don't Healers use needles?" Varanian offered although unsurely and Annie threw him an incredulous look which he took to mean he was wrong and held up his hands, "Or not. Just make them needles. Sharp and silver. Getting some basic spells down helps with more advanced things later on."

"Yeah well, you know as a baby I ran before I walked," Annie pointed out and went to take a swig from her beer, he grabbed it and moved it out of her reach though.

"No drinking, alcohol can impede your ability to do magic especially in large quantities."

"You are just a slave driver today, aren't you?"

"Yes, yes I am. So work," Varanian told her and let go of the bottle, instead moving to take his ring off and she snatched the bottle back immediately. She grinned triumphantly and he scowled at her.

"It's one bottle!" Annie protested and cast the spell on the matchstick, it transformed as it was meant to and she held it up to him, "And look, I still made a useless needle and the civilization hasn't collapsed."

"That we know of but fine," Varanian agreed irritably and took off his ring.

It melted in places and blackened now, the appearance was the first thing he needed to fix. He withdrew his wand and set to it, using magic to shine it back to gold and reform it to its original shape. It had been his eldest brother's, although his brother had died before being able to reach the altar so he'd never worn it. It was harder to repair it then he'd thought, the fact the fire had been magical made it difficult. It might just be the physical damage that was making it unable to register Scorpius' messages.

"Wouldn't it be easier to just buy a new magical messaging transporterkey ring?" Annie asked him after a while.

"It's _Portkey_," Varanian corrected her firmly, "And of course I can't, I'm the one who infused them with this magic and invented those spells. It's difficult, complex magic and it's never been done before, they're not sold in bulk at the... wherever they'd sell these. I made them and I'll fix it, I can't do much else right now."

"You should make them for everyone in the group so we can all keep in touch."

"It'd be stupid to make them for everyone and for the last freaking time, there's no group!" Varanian snapped at her, fed up that everyone kept bringing that up.

"Why do you hate the idea of a group?"

"Because I do!"

"I got that. Care to elaborate?" Annie wondered and gestured with her hand for him to go on.

"No."

"C'mon, if you tell me then I'll shut up about it. Who else are you going to talk to?" Annie continued and he said nothing, "What is really so bad about giving a name to the already existing group of people that you're just in denial about? Dumblefore and Harry Potter did it."

"Dumbledore! It's Dumbledore not Dumblefore!" Varanian complained at her and she rolled her eyes, "Even I can remember that."

"I've known about the magical world for less than a year, give me a freaking break on not every little thing," Annie told him moodily and took another swig from the bottle, "And what's the big deal when Dumble_dore_ and Harry Potter did it?"

"Because I'm not Dumbledore or Harry Potter! They'd already defeated a Dark Wizard when they started the Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore's Army, these were great wizards with power and experience, people who knew what they were doing."

"And you're not?"

"Of course I'm not! I've not done anything worthwhile with my life, I'm only slightly more than mediocrely talented and I have no idea what I'm doing," Varanian admitted in frustration and gestured to his board of information, "I try and find out all that stuff to try figure out what to do, I don't know how to get the Scepter or stop the Shadows. Nothing I've done so far has succeeded or made the slightest bit of difference, I don't know why you lunatics look for me for answers in the first place. Because I don't know what to do, I just try figure it out as I go along."

"So what? You just want to give up?"

"No!" Varanian protested and sighed, "I'm prepared to risk my life and fight the Shadows, to just try my best and if I fail then at least I can die knowing I tried. But asking other people to risk their lives and follow me is a completely different thing, I'd be responsible for them and how can I ask anyone to do that when I don't know what I'm doing? A name just makes it official."

"I see," Annie mused thoughtfully and leaned back while taking another swig, "You always sound like you know what you're doing."

"That's just how I always sound."

"But did you ever think that Dumbledore and Harry Potter didn't know what they were dong either? I mean, Potter doesn't know what he's doing now."

"Of course they knew what they were doing, they're great wizards," Varanian insisted, even if Potter would arrest him now given half a chance.

"Or maybe they just were good at sounding like they know what they were doing," Annie insisted herself, "I get what you're saying but you're wrong. People are following you anyway, they're already prepared to risk their lives anyway. No one knows what to do either but they know they want to go in the same direction you're going, whether you give them a name or not, they are. And that's not a bad thing, sometimes you need people because you can't win this war alone, none of us can. And for the record, you're a better wizard then you think you are."

"Well the answer's still no."

"I figured, you're just a stubborn ass."

"Why do you even care?"

"I don't," Annie scoffed and another swig, "Honestly, sometimes I think I'm still in solitary confinement and this is all an isolation induced psychotic hallucination."

"Well I'm glad you're nuts because sane people are too abundant around here," Varanian commented sarcastically and she laughed, he shook his head and found himself smiling for no reason. He glanced back to his board and sighed as he sobered, wondering what he had gotten himself into.

* * *

**Part 2: **Rage and Closeness

* * *

_Life was simple for Tommy Riddle, his entire world was a four by six foot cell. It was a dark world as the dull light from the window high above their reach was all the light they had, it was all murky blackness beyond the bars. A toilet, a bed, a burlap blanket and three sets of prison robes they wore were the only things in their world and he, his twin sister Sal and his Mama were the only occupants in his world. Unless you counted the Dementors but his Mama said the Dementors weren't people, they glided by sometimes which seemed to upset his Mama as she'd zone out and usually curl up in a ball unresponsively. Occasionally the Dementors would walk by with another prisoner, mangy looking people in the same robes as them who stared at the ground with hopeless holes for eyes. His Mama didn't like them being near the door when they passed by though._

_He and Sal would sleep huddled up together under the burlap blanket on the bed while their Mama slept on the floor, the Dementors would come and slip a cup of water for them through the bars to indicate it was time to get up. They'd take the cup back shortly after, returning with it refilled four more times during the day and the last of which indicated it was time to go to bed. They'd also bring them food twice a day, always a plate of slop - his Mama wasn't sure what it was supposed to taste like - but sometimes they also had a bit of bread. His Mama made sure they exercised walking around the cell or jumping and that was it, there wasn't a lot to do in the world. Rarely the Dementors would take them to the showers, leading them outside the cell and through the maze of darkness, bars and sobbing to a small room with a shower for them to wash. That was his favorite time, it was exciting to be outside the cell._

_Mostly they just listened to their Mama during the days, she told them all sorts of things. Everything from the fact there were more colors to history and their heritage to describing the sky and grass to the goals of their father to how to count to magic and how pureblood made you superior to what animals were to her own life experience including her time at Hogwarts to their destiny, she told them everything about the world outside those walls. The world just out of their reach, they wouldn't know anything of it if not for their Mama's stories. Tommy found it hard to imagine all the things she said though, she'd mentioned more names then he could count up to. Surely there couldn't be that many people in the world? There couldn't be more than fifteen or twenty, and even that many seemed a lot. Despite that, he loved hearing it all, it sounded miraculous compared to how they lived now. He and Sal tried to see out the window once when they were about four, wanting a glimpse of this sky. When his Mama was lost in her mind due to the Dementors, he crouched down and let Sal stand on his back but it was still too high._

_"Do you think it's really real, Tommy?" Sal asked him one of the days as they sat huddled in the corner together while their Mama lay curled up on the bed from the Dementors last visit, "All Mama says."_

_"It has to be real," Tommy insisted, shocked at the thought his Mama would tell them anything that wasn't true, "Mama says so."_

_"Maybe Mama's wrong, we never see it or be out so how do we know for surer?"_

_"BECAUSE I SAID SO!" their Mama screeched abruptly, apparently snapping out of and crossed the distance between them. She hauled Sal up to look at her, "DON'T YOU DARE YOU QUESTION YOUR MOTHER!"_

_"I just thought-" Sal started to say but was cut off._

_"SHUT UP, SALAZIA!" their Mama screamed in interruption and slapped Sal hard across the face, she fell back with a red handprint now livid on her white flesh._

_"That's very red," Tommy muttered mostly to himself in worry at the change in color but his Mama turned to him as she'd heard and for a minute he thought she'd be mad at him too, instead though she smiled and crouched to his level._

_"That's right, Tommy, that is red," his Mama praised him and Tommy smiled at the positive attention, his Mama put a hand on his shoulder, "Well done, Mama is very proud of you."_

_"I know what red is too," Sal pointed out desperately as she sat up, "Am you is proud of me?"_

_"Shut up, Sal! I was talking to your brother!" their Mama snapped at her and Sal lowered her tear-filled eyes to the ground, Tommy felt guilty for speaking up in the first place, "Praise is earned. And don't cry, its weak and the Dark Lord's children should not be weak."_

* * *

Maurice seemed a lot less keen on his Polyjuice idea now he'd realized he'd have to hear but did seem to freak out less about it as the weeks wore on, he also still did it and it seemed to be working. Scorpius had to spend a great deal of time hanging out in the Room That Doesn't Exist to ensure he wasn't found by Rutherford and their plan ruined, sometimes he'd spend the time alone with Molly, other times his friends - or at least some of them - would join him to study or sometimes he'd just be alone and get some more animagi practice in. He also finally got a reply from Varanian, explaining the ring had been damaged in the fire – hence his lack of reply - but he'd fixed it now and Scorpius ended up agreeing to go try see him on the next Hogsmeade visit to explain about Rutherford. So long date with Molly, not that it would've been very good anyway as Lenore had cleaned him out for the Polyjuice.

True to his word, Maurice also started teaching Occlumency to Michael, Molly, Latimer and Cassia as well continuing to teach Scorpius. They paced themselves though, Maurice would give them one lesson a week each. Scorpius on Mondays, Molly on Tuesdays, Michael on Wednesdays, Latimer on Thursdays and Cassia on Fridays, they couldn't do it the weekends as Maurice had to Polyjuice for the detentions then. It was much easier, he only got a headache on the one day and it wasn't unbearably bad. They had planned to teach Antonius too but their first lesson had proved interesting, they'd taken them to the Room That Doesn't Exist the morning of the Sunday so it was before the detention to explain it to them. They'd agreed and Maurice had made his first attempt, starting with Antonius. But nothing had happened, even after multiple attempts. Maurice scowled in confusion.

"Am I doing it?" Antonius wondered curiously.

"Maybe," Maurice mused but sounded doubtful, "It feels weird though. I want you to try not doing it now, deliberately think and feel things."

"Erm... Okay," Antonius had agreed hesitantly and Maurice had tried again but to no avail, even after several more attempts.

"Molly, you try. Scor, could you get my brother? I want to test a theory."

"Erm... Okay," Scorpius had said with uncertainty but had left to find 'Lathan Loren' - Orous' birth name - in the Library, the albino seemed distracted by the fact Lily Potter was sitting and watching him from a nearby table, "Can you come with me for a bit? Your brother wants you for something."

"Okay," Orous agreed readily and waved bye to Vern, Corin and Olivia who he'd been sitting with them as they left, Lily sighed in disappointment and hung her head, "What am I going to do?"

"Going to do about what?" Scorpius wondered as they left the Library.

"Lily! She keeps watching me and sometimes she tries to talk to me but ends up getting tongue-tied or something then runs off crying. I feel horrible and I haven't even done anything."

"Dunno, tell her you're sorry but you're not interested?"

"But that would hurt her feelings."

"Then tell her you want to go out with her and she can relax?"

"But that would hurt Albus' feelings."

"Then tell-" Scorpius started to say but stopped as he gave it some serious thought for the first time, "Forget how the Potters feel, how do _you_ feel? Do you like her? Do you actually want to go out with her?"

"I don't know," Orous shrugged uncomfortably, "I haven't really thought about."

"This girl's had a crush on you a month now and you haven't thought about it?!"

"Well I told you before, the thought of dating scares me after what those muggles did… But then I see you and Molly, Vern and Olivia, Maurice and Lenore - even though I don't really like her - being happy and it looks… well, kind of nice. Lily is sort of pretty although I don't really know her but getting to know people is part of the dating, isn't it?" Orous rambled on quietly, staring at the ground and shifting his hands nervously, "But then it wouldn't matter if we ever ... you know... _kiss._.. or… or hold... hold hands... hold our hands... you know, together or... or... like... _snogging_... and I keep thinking of those muggles. It wouldn't be nice then and she'd think I was pathetic. So I think I should just say no but then what if I'm overreacting and I could be normal with her. Then I'm maybe turning away the only girl who would ever be interested in me, you know since I'm screwed up in the soul and look like a freak."

"Look, Orous..." Scorpius began and halted, staring at the ground awkwardly as he wasn't used to talking about it and almost considering not saying anything but he wanted to help Orous, "I erm... I... think you should go for it. Just because Maurice can't go five minutes without snogging Lenore, it doesn't mean_ all _relationships are like that. Molly and I... We... We've been going out for over a year now, nearly two if you count from our first date and we've only just started trying to make out because I get... I get... Molly's pretty patient with me... I erm... My point... My point is that you can go at whatever pace you feel comfortable at and Lily's only thirteen anyway so she'll probably be new at this and nervous too. You know, okay with going slow and if not she probably isn't someone you want to be dating anyway. If it doesn't work then at least you'll know you tried and have a better idea where you stand."

"Thanks. I'll... I'll think about it."

"Good," Scorpius nodded and looked up in relief that the uncomfortable conversation was over as they reached the Room That Doesn't Exist, going inside, "And here we are. How's it going?"

"Still no luck," Molly told him as she lowered her wand from Antonius, "Even when he's trying to let his mind be read, Maurice and I both can't get it."

"I think it might be because of the soul damage, which is why I wanted to test it on Orous," Maurice added and gestured for his twin to come sit, "Just think. Thoughts, emotions, memories, think things and desire us to find them."

"Okay," Orous agreed somewhat reluctantly and went to sit down, Maurice and Molly both tried repeatedly to get into his head but also got no result.

"Congratulations, you two are incapable of having your minds read. It's like you have no thought which is good, I don't have to teach you and no one will be able to get to you."

"Great, I'm immortal and I have no mind," Antonius snapped bitterly as he stood and stalked off.

"Anton-" Scorpius tried to go after him but Cassia stopped him.

"Let him go," Cassia told him, "He's is always cranky these days, people keep asking him to see the scar and if he's Harry Potter's heir – whatever that means - and things and it is annoying to him. So is it my turn now? I want to be the youngest Occlumens, it's a good skill for Aurors to have and that's what I'm is going to be just like Daddy."

* * *

_Tommy started to realize as he got older why the Dementors affected his Mama, when they actually had some memories to relive. The nugget of hope in his heart for a better life stopped being enough and it was bled out of any positive feeling when the Dementors were close, the times he or Sal were ill or upset about being in trouble played over inside his mind and the gravity of their situation as a doomed life of eternal imprisonment became something he could understand. The outside world he craved, the freedom, the promised of a better future all were just wistful wisps of hope that didn't help improve their current situation. He thought maybe he and Sal weren't affected as much as the other prisoners as they didn't know any better but the Dementors still became a force to dread._

_By five they were too big to share the bed at night so they started taking it in turns, one got the bed and one got the burlap blanket on the floor now with Mama so it was fairer then they'd swap the next night. Mama became Mother by the time they were six as it was deemed too childish now, according to his Mother they should have started learning to read and write already. They weren't able to do that there though. They were ill a lot although Tommy didn't know which was worse, being ill himself or seeing his twin suffering. It was the same with punishment, Sal seemed to wind up on their Mother's bad side a lot more than he did, if he didn't know any better than he'd say their Mother was actually harder on her which left her upset. Then again, Sal was the one who was more daring and willing to question or disobey._

_They had their own language though - Parseltongue, their Mother called it which was apparently the language of snakes and a special gift of their bloodline - which only he and Sal knew, they caught on pretty quickly that if they were going to talk about anything that might upset or anger their mother then Parseltongue was the way to go. He was close to Sal. Their Mother was the one who he thought of as knowing everything and he loved her very much but she was set in her ways, she could snap from happy to angry quickly if they said something bad like asking why being pureblood made you the best or something weak like admitting to having a bad dream. Sal however, was on the same page as him and they could talk about anything freely without the risk of getting in trouble. And they did, they practically knew everything about each other. Not that there was a lot to know, they spent every waking second together after all due to their confinement._

_It was only around age seven that the Dementors decided that now they were bigger, three to the shower was too much of a handful so started taking their Mother down alone then him and Sal together. It was the first time in their lives they'd been separated from their Mother, they screamed and cried and tugged on the bars in terror it was forever but thankfully it wasn't. They were chastised for their panic though, it wasn't becoming of the children of the Dark Lord to be so terrified. It wasn't so scary once they got used it however, in fact they had fun saying and doing things their Mother would've screamed at them for like trying to swing the bed and jump off it while yelling nonsense. At Sal's encouragement, they also tried to see out the window again with actual success this time, one had to crouch but stay as tall as possible while the other stood on their back. Sal went first and then he got to try it and snatched a glimpse of the outside world for the very first time. It was a mass of different shades of puffy gray shapes that he thought were clouds, enveloping all he could see from the window. And he felt as if something gentle was brushing against his face, it was sure it was the wind. Despite the iciness of it, he loved the feel of the breeze through his hair._

_"That's amazing," Tommy breathed a sigh of amazement as he climbed down, "I can't wait until Father returns to power and comes for us, then we'll be able to be out there."_

_"I don't think he will," Sal admitted and he glanced at her in surprise, "Mother says Dementors make people go crazy, I think it's her being crazy. There's no Father, there's no destiny. We're just worthless prisoners, we were born here and we'll die here. That window is the closest we'll ever get."_

_"Don't say that!" Tommy protested and put his hands on her arms, "We just saw outside, we saw that there is more world out there even if it's just a little bit. If that's true then it's all true. Father will come back for us and we'll follow in his footsteps like Mother says, we'll be great Wizards and Witches."_

_"We're not great, we haven't even ever done magic."_

_"Because Dementors stop magic but when we get out we'll be extra more powerful because of it, we'll be free."_

_"Maybe you will," Sal pointed out with a sad sigh, "You're the great one, Tommy, Mother always thinks so."_

_"No, you're the great one," Tommy insisted truthfully, "Mother just thinks I am because I am gooder then you but you're braver and smarter. It was your idea to try the window, I wouldn't have thought of it or be brave enough to try it without you. When we're free, being braver and smarter is better than being gooder."_

_"You're just trying to make me feel better. Being gooder is… well, good."_

_"Just because I want you to feel better, it doesn't mean I'm not being truthfulled," Tommy told her and she put her arms around him in a hug, "When we get out you'll be great, Sal, you'll see."_

_"We'll both be great acause I don't want to be great alone," Sal said as they pulled apart, hugging was weak when you got too old but... well, Tommy liked it, it felt comforting._

_"We'll always be together though, won't we?" Tommy asked worriedly, scared at the thought of them getting split up in the big wide world._

_"Of course we will, Tommy," Sal assured him with a smile that he returned in relief, "We're twins, we'll always be together no matter what. Even if it's just us against the world then we'd still be standing side by side."_

_"Good," Tommy breathed happily, he couldn't imagine a situation where they'd ever not be on the same side and he was glad of that._

* * *

October dawned and things settled into a new routine, Michael was finding it all very stressful. On top of struggling to stay on track for his OWLs, prefect duties, Quidditch practice, being a werewolf and the unrelenting worry about Jack, he now had Occlumency to learn. Occlumency was hard and after he was always left with the feeling of having his pierced by needles, he already suffered from headaches without deliberately causing them. He didn't think he was ever going to succeed at Occlumency, he couldn't even clear his mind for a good night's rest let alone to stop someone invading his head.

He was dreading the next full moon tomorrow even more than usual, Marigold had been right about the restraints being so tight they cut into him and he'd wound up gnawing at them to try loosen or remove them to stop the pain which had just done more damage to himself. He hadn't told his friends, they'd probably be on Marigold's side thinking that it was wrong for him to be chained up in the first place. It was the one thing he agreed with Rutherford on, he struggled with fears of hurting people and felt like he should be locked up when he was a monster. It gave him some peace of mind to be down there, unfortunately it didn't give his body peace. Exhaustion was already kicking in already, it was hard to focus on the scrambling letters as tiredness made his Dyslexia worse. It was like his body was conspiring against him.

"Maurice!" Rose called angrily, snapping him from his thoughts as she waved frantically at the deaf boy as he walked by the group of them studying in the Library with Lenore, who was actually the taller of the couple. Lenore stopped and said something to Maurice, pointing to the waving Rose to presumably inform him that he was wanted. Maurice left her side to go over to them, his hand already around his necklace, "What do you think you're doing?!"

"Going to make out with Lenore," Maurice told them a grin, either not noticing or not caring about how irate Rose was.

"You said you'd hang out with us today when you were done with Latimer's lesson."

"Well sorry but Lenore had an Ancient Runes essay and now we're going to snog to celebrate getting it done. See you later."

"You know what, no," Rose said strictly, "I'm fed up of this! What about us?! What about your friends?! How can you blow us off again?!"

"I told you, Lenore needed me."

"So what?! Just because the girl is so stupid she needs the help of someone three years younger than her to help, it's no reason to keep blowing us off! You could've sat with us at least like Olivia does sometimes with Vern."

"Oh I couldn't, Lenore doesn't like you," Maurice pointed out as if it were obvious and irrelevant.

"What the hell do you mean she doesn't like us?!"

"Actually it's just you she doesn't like."

"What the hell did I do to the stupid bitch?!"

"I don't know, I didn't ask," Maurice said with a shrug and a scowl as Rose's face went red with rage, "I didn't think it mattered. And don't insult my girlfriend."

"Don't-"

"Rose, just let it go," Michael offered, not wanting a full-blown argument in the Library.

"No!" Rose yelled as she jumped up, "I'm not going to stand idly by anymore while that psychotic Slytherin slut takes advantage of you!"

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Maurice demanded of her, "She's not taking advantage of me."

"Oh come on, wake up and smell the shit! She gets you to help her with her homework, she only spends time with you when you're done, she conspires to keep you from your friends because she knows we know she's a fraud, she made Scor pay an arm and a leg for something any decent person would've given for free because she only cares about what she gets out of a situation! She doesn't give a damn about you, Maurice, she's a cold-hearted, emotionless bitch!"

"You're unbelievable!" Maurice shot back furiously, looking livid with barely contained anger, "You're just a jealous, shallow, vile harpy and it's no wonder no one wants to go out with you! Not to mention a hypocrite because you ask me for help with your homework all the time! Lenore's a better person then you'll ever be!"

"I'm not-"

"YES YOU ARE!" Maurice raged loud enough to silence her, "IT TOOK GETTING DRAGON POX FOR YOU TO STOP BEING A BITCH TO LATIMER BECAUSE OF HOW HE LOOKS! YOU REJECTED MICHAEL BECAUSE OF HIS SCARS! YOU DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT WHAT ANYONE WENT THROUGH, YOU WERE JUST PATHETICALLY SHALLOW! YOU WON'T EVEN TALK TO ONE YOUR BEST FRIENDS RIGHT NOW AND BECAUSE WHY?! BECAUSE SHE WAS AWARDED THE HONOR OF PREFECT! NOT EVEN SOMETHING SHE CONCIOUSLY, HER ACTIONS WERE SIMPLY DEEMED MORE WORTHY THEN YOURS AND INSTEAD OF BEING PROUD OF YOUR FRIEND - WHO'S BEEN THROUGH A LOT LATELY - YOU'RE TOO ARROGANT TO ACCEPT THE FACT THAT SHE WAS BETTER FOR IT THEN YOU BECAUSE YOU'RE SUCH A SPOILED BRAT! AND NOW YOU'RE HAVING A GO AT LENORE JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE JEALOUS! JEALOUS SHE'S HEAD GIRL AND PREFECT, JEALOUS I'M NOT HELPING YOU SO MUCH ANYMORE, JEALOUS THAT I HAVE SOMEONE AND YOU DON'T! ITS NO WONDER NO ONE WANTS TO GO OUT WITH YOU, YOU'RE A PATHETIC EXCUSE FOR A HUMAN BEING! AND YOU'RE TOO MUCH OF A COWARD TO EVEN FACE THE TRUTH!"

"WELL YOU'RE JUST A BASTARD, MAURICE, AN ABSOLUTE BASTARD! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING ABOUT PEOPLE BECAUSE YOU'RE A PSYCHOTIC FREAK LIKE YOUR MOTHER! I WAS WRONG, YOU AND LENORE DESERVE EACH OTHER, HAVE FUN HAVING YOUR HEART RIPPED OUT! IF YOU EVEN HAVE ONE!" Rose screamed through tears and turned to run but looked back for a minute, "AND JUST FOR THE RECORD, I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO THINKS LENORE'S USING YOU! I'M JUST THE ONLY _COWARD_ BRAVE ENOUGH TO BRING IT UP!"

* * *

**Part 3: **Upset

* * *

Rose fled in a flurry of tears and Michael instinctively went after her to make sure she was okay, although he did think she was being unreasonable with Abby. She could move fast when she was upset, or maybe he was just slow and weak from the encroaching full moon. He followed the sobbing and the flicker of beautiful red hair streaming behind her as she ran.

"Rose!" Michael called after her and she paused, looking back to him with blotchy tear-filled eyes which gave him time to catch up. Still finding it somewhat odd to be taller than her now, he opened his mouth to speak but she spoke first.

"Am I a horrible person?!" Rose demanded of him and he opened his mouth to reply again but she dropped to the step on ground, burying her face in her hands and crying. He sat down cautiously beside her, a passing trio of Ravenclaws gave them an odd look.

"Rose-" Michael began but was silenced by a wail as rose threw her arms around him and started crying into his neck.

"H-H-How c-could h-he s-say all that m-mean st-stuff to me? I'm jus-just tr-trying to l-look o-out for him an-and he g-goes and b-be's a big j-jerk, why is h-he l-like that? W-We all kn-know she's jus-just using h-hi. L-L-Lenore's a m-mean, st-stupid b-bitch. Y-You ha-have pr-prefect dut-duty with her so y-you should kn-know."

"She's not that bad."

"NOT THAT BAD?!" Rose shrieked at him abruptly jerking away from him, he held up his hands in surrender as he garbled a reply.

"She's not exactly warm and friendly but she's efficient, just gets on with the work is all I mean. She's not sacrificing virgins to Satan or anything that I can see but then I barely know her and I do agree that I think she might possibly seems to be just using Maurice."

"Right," Rose nodded and attempted to snort the snot back into her nose before resting her head on his shoulder once more, he shifted somewhat uncomfortably but she didn't seem to notice, "Am-Am I jus-just a hor-horrible per-person?"

"You're not a horrible person."

"D-Do you think h-he was right though? I tr-try to be a good per-person, to th-think of oth-others m-more. He-He's th-the one that thought it was ok-okay to ask Abby ab-about being t-tortured!"

"So you get that must've hard?"

"Of course, I do! B-Being kid-kidnapped and t-tortured is rough, look how bad-badly it screwed up L-Lorcan. Al-Although I d-don't th-think Abby had it as b-bad as h-him. An-And her br-brother d-d-died only th-the year b-before and things aren't gr-great at ho-home," Rose continued sniffling, "Or m-maybe they are, I h-haven't b-been t-talking to her in ag-ages... Y-You know, I-I miss talking t-to her."

"So talk to her, apologize for how you've been acting."

"You think I went overboard w-with this prefect thing, don't you?"

"Yes," Michael admitted, "Yes, I do. I would've been happy for Scorpius or Albus to get prefect, in fact I thought it might've been a mistake because I'm not from a magical family or super smart or anything. I'm a freaking werewolf for crying out loud. But it wasn't a mistake and I'm just glad Scorpius and Albus aren't upset about it."

"It meant a lot to me, y'know?" Rose told him quietly, "My-My parents are really great, they're great people, great parents and they're heroes. They literally had a major impact on the world and helped to stop Voldemort, my Dad likes to brag but it really was a great thing they did. Your parents are nothing - no offense - so you don't understand what it's like growing up in the shadows of heroes, it's a lot to live up to. And I just... I just keep not living up to it. My Mum is like a genius, the brightest witch of her age and I'm smart but I'm no her. I'm one of the top students but not the best in any lesson, I'm not even close and I have to study my socks off just to get that. I can't even do a Patronus yet, I don't have any particular talent. I'm just mediocre."

"You don't have to be the best at something to be proud of yourself, you're a talented witch."

"It's not good enough for the daughter of Ron and Hermione Weasley!" Rose protested, "And then there's this whole war, my parents were fighting Voldemort since they were eleven and they didn't falter. But me? I'm terrified and I hate this Shadow War, I was too much of a coward to even be fully involved and now I am more, I'm still scared. I'm a coward. My parents are brave heroes and I'm a coward. But this year, this year I thought that I was just maybe smart enough to make prefect like parents did. I thought I could finally do something to be like them, to make them proud of me. But I wasn't even good enough for that."

"Rose-" Michael started to say but Rose burst into tears again.

"M-Maurice i-is r-r-right, I a-am b-being a j-jerk to her. I-It's j-just eas-easier to b-be mad at h-her then ad-admit I-I'm s-such a fa-failure."

"Well the important thing is you realized it now and you're not a failure, the world hasn't ended because you didn't get prefect. It doesn't change anything, you're a smart, beautiful, capable witch and you can still do anything you set your mind too."

"Y-You really m-mean that?"

"Of course."

"And d-do you really th-think I'm b-beautiful?" Rose asked as she pulled away so he could look at her, her hair was a sticking up mess from lying on him, snot was dripping down her nose, her face was all blotchy and red from crying... And yet, somehow he still liked her.

"Yes," Michael told her and she smiled through her mask of snot and tears.

"Do you want to go to Hogsmeade with me?" Rose questioned out of the blue and he was taken aback, his heart skipped a beat in joy and a part of his mind screamed at him to say yes but it wasn't the word that left his lips.

"No. Rose, I don't date."

"You dated Mirra."

"And that was a mistake, I shouldn't have and I'm not going to do it again," Michael insisted determinedly and she lost her smile, if he could resist the craving for meat then he could resist hormones. He was a werewolf and he shouldn't date, he was going to stick to his original thought on it being wrong, "I'm sorry."

"What if I dyed-"

"_Please_, don't go there again," Michael interjected, "Mirra being blond had absolutely _nothing_ to do with why I dated her. Besides, I like your red hair. I'm just not dating."

"Is it because my boobs aren't as big as Mirra's?"

"No! Rose!"

"What if I started dressing like Lenore? That's what guy like, right?"

"No! It has nothing to do with you and everything to do with me not wanting to date right now, or ever. Try... Try someone else."

"Do you think Maurice would date me if I started dressing like Lenore?"

"Rose!"

"I miss having someone," Rose admitted with a sigh before she stood, he jumped up after her and felt rather dizzy from it, "I erm... Thanks for listening. I'm going to clean up and then go talk to Abby."

"Good," Michael nodded and gave a weak smile, "I'm glad."

He didn't see how it went with Abby, Rose asked to speak to her alone for some privacy after she'd cleaned herself up and he headed down to the Hospital Wing early as he was feeling increasingly weakened. He hated being a werewolf. He still tried to study until the words just became an illegible lump of letters and instead ran a hand down his face as he went to try sleep, surprising himself at the rough feeling on his chin. He was starting to get stubble, he was already going gray so he wasn't sure why it surprised him. He was reminded oddly of the fact his parents had been his age when he was conceived and that had ruined his parents' lives, all the more reason to avoid dating. Annie was right, it was better to be alone or at least safer.

He slept for most of the Friday, when he was awake he lay there fighting to keep his exhausted eyes let alone do anything. It was evening again when Rutherford came for him, if he didn't know any better than he'd say Rutherford planned it to arrive while Marigold had gone to the toilet so he couldn't object. Michael went down with the attaché obediently, his sluggish limbs resisting the effort of having to move. He practically collapsed onto the cold ground and wasn't sure if he slept momentarily as his head lolled, the next thing he heard was the snap of the icy shackles around his limbs.

"Could you... Could you maybe please let them be a little looser this time?" Michael asked hesitantly and the dark eyes darted to him, "It just dug into me a little... well a lot last time."

"Fine," Rutherford growled and flicked his wand as he stood, the shackles widened marginally.

"I don't think that's enough."

"Well we'll try it and see. We don't want to take any chances with werewolves," Rutherford told him and as if to prove a point, lifted the leg of his pants to give him a glimpse of a prosthetic leg before letting it go as he stalked out, "Night night, don't let yourself bite."

* * *

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Maurice demanded of them angrily as Rose ran off crying like a weakling, Michael going after her, "You just all hate Lenore?! How can you say that after she helped you out?!"

_We just think that... she might be using you_, Scorpius ended up offering as no one spoke up.

_Because... Because she just... you know, only seems to care about you helping her with her homework_, Corin said looking hesitant,_ It seemed liked she only helped for the money and would stab us in the back if it came to it_

_And she takes up loads of your free time,_ Abby added uncomfortably.

_And she doesn't seem like the nicest of people_, Latimer agreed, _She comes across pretty coldhearted_

"HOW CAN _YOU_ CRITISIZE _HER_ FOR ASKING FOR MY HELP AFTER ALL I DO FOR YOU PEOPLE?!" Maurice yelled at them furiously and hoped it was loud because he was pissed, he spent more time in Scorpius' detentions and teaching Occlumency then he got to spend with Lenore after all and they had the nerve to accuse her of taking up his time?! But he couldn't really say that in the Library where other people were, "YOU PEOPLE ARE UNBELIEVABLE! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT FROM ME?! I FOCUS ON THE WAR AND I'M A FREAK, I GET A GIRLFRIEND LIKE A NORMAL PERSON AND YOU'RE STILL NOT SATISFIED?! AND DID YOU EVER THINK THAT MAYBE I LIKE HER PERSONALITY!? MAYBE I LIKE SHE THINKS LOGICALLY LIKE I DO?! AND JUST MAYBE I ENJOY SPENDING TIME WITH HER BECAUSE SHE MAKES ME HAPPY AND TAKES MY MIND OFF THINGS?!"

On that note, Maurice let go of his translator necklace and turned angrily to leave, he almost ran into the irate Librarian he would've guessed was trying to tell him to get out for being loud anyway. He obliged and stormed off, feeling his wrist burn and keeping a tight rein on his magic as he did so to ensure nothing happened. Because of course, he couldn't risk getting in trouble because then he might not be able to go to Scorpius' detentions. His stupid friends. They just didn't know Lenore like he did. He told her to go on and he'd catch up after he'd seen what Rose had wanted, stupid jealous Rose.

He went straight to Lenore to their usual room, one of the rooms the enemy interrogators - or 'counsellors' as they were apparently calling them now - had used as there was a couch. Lenore was already there, sitting leaning against the one of the arms with her legs stretched out. Her legs were bare as she was wearing very short shorts, his eyes traced the smooth, slender flesh and he let out a breath, she was... how would the normal teenagers put it? _Hot_. He still didn't really understand the things he felt about her, urges he had that he had no idea if it was normal, he had dreams about her. She'd been reading a book but put it back in her book bag when he entered and he managed a smile for her as he put a hand to his necklace, crossing the distance between them and she swung her legs over the side in a normal sitting position to give him space to sit by her.

_I was starting to think you weren't coming_

He leaned in to kiss her tenderly in greeting, relishing the feeling of her soft lips pressed against his as he reached out to caress her cheek with his free hand. He felt a stab of panic as they pulled apart, looking at his scarred hand. Lenore had never cared about his scars which were something people might find off-putting, he'd assumed it was just because she wasn't shallow like Rose but now... If she _was_ using him then she'd purposely pretend that his scars didn't bother her so he'd just think she wasn't shallow.

_Something wrong_

"Are you using me?" Maurice blurted out worriedly, "You know, exchanging dating me for help with your Ancient Runes? Do you like me?"

_I wouldn't date someone I didn't like. Isn't all dating just an exchange really, _Lenore's words appeared by her head as she leaned back thoughtfully_, I mean typically, the male attempts to impress the female with gifts and dates and success is rewarded with physical affection. Humans like to think they're all evolved but if you strip away the complexity, at the core it's really just like any mating ritual_

"I don't want an intellectual debate, I want a serious answer!" Maurice snapped harsher then he'd intended but her disinterested attitude made him fear they were right, "They think you're using me for help with your homework and that you're taking up all my time and that you're a cold-hearted person."

_What's wrong with being a cold-hearted person_

"Lenore!"

_It really doesn't matter what they think, what do you think,_ Lenore asked of him as she sat up, looking focused now, _Do you think it's true_

"Maybe, that's why I asked."

_Does it bother you that I ask for help with my Ancient Runes_

"Maybe. Sort of. Sometimes," Maurice answered uncertainly, in truth he didn't really mind unless he wasn't feeling particularly in the mood that day but did so anyway because he wanted to be a good boyfriend.

_Then fine, Maurice_, Lenore stated and reached into her bag, pulling out the rolls of parchment that'd just finished and tossed them onto the ground. She stood and slung her book bag over her shoulder while she withdrew her wand with her free hand, she flicked it at the parchment and to his surprise, it immediately burst into flames, _If you don't want to help me then don't, I don't even want your help if you're going to be such a jerk about it. If you want to spend time with your friends then spend time with your friends, I'm not stopping you and I never did. If you think I'm such a cold-hearted horrible person like all Slytherins automatically are to you people then just don't go out with me, I have enough crap to deal with without this_

"Lenore, wait!" Maurice protested, jumping up as she started to leave and she paused in the doorway, if she was upset then she probably wasn't using him and his friends were wrong after all, "I-I'm sorry, please don't go."

_I have to go, I have an Ancient Runes essay to write now_

"Let me help you then."

_Why. So you can throw it back in my face. I don't think so, you made it perfectly clear you don't want to help me or spend time with me_, Lenore insisted as she opened the door, _Go help your friends. You know, the ones having you spend your time tiring yourself out teaching Occlumency, making a complex Polyjuice Potion and having to take detentions for them just because they don't want their minds looked at, the apparently all-knowing friends who don't even care how difficult it is for you to hear_

"Lenore," Maurice called after her but she slammed the door and left, he sunk down unhappily onto the couch and flicked his own wand at the flames to kill them. His friends might've just cost him his girlfriend. Suddenly, he just felt like being alone.

* * *

"What do you mean they're gone?!" Harry Potter demanded of his protégé, Cel Rooke, in shock for the third time in a row as he struggled to wrap his brain about it. The Soul Eater werewolves they'd apprehended after the attack on Hogsmeade over a year prior had no apparently vanished from New Azkaban prison without a trace or any sign of breaking out.

"I mean gone," Cel repeated as the handsome Assistant Deputy Head Auror ran a hand through his sandy hair worriedly, "According to the guards, they went to give the prisoners their evening meal and they were all gone. No sign of foul play, no commotion and it was only the Soul Eater werewolves missing."

"Son of a bitch," Harry cursed and sat at his desk, burying his tired face in his hands that the one advantage he thought they'd had was gone, "It had to be Specters, didn't it? They just took them out and we were powerless to stop them."

"That's what I'd guess too. Their werewolf army is back in business and probably being used on Greece, they only need five more districts now."

"And we should be trying to protect them from the Soul Eaters not trying to protect the muggles from magic."

"The Minister thinks-"

"I know what the Minister thinks! I know keeping a magic a secret is important but I think stopping the threat is more important, not to mention the fact that stopping the Soul Eaters eliminates the threat of muggles finding out because of them anyway!" Harry snapped at him much more harshly then he'd intended and sighed as he lowered his hands, "I'm sorry, Cel, I'm just stressed."

"I think we all are, Harry," Cel admitted and leaned back against the door frame as Ron joined them, he was looking older every day and grayer then his elder brothers now.

"Did you tell him yet?" Ron asked curiously, sounding jovial even if he looked frail as an injury from a few years ago seemed to have had a lingering effect on his health.

"Yes. Repeatedly. But if you want you can tell him again."

"Nah, I just came to ask if you two were ready to go."

"You want us to look at the prison?" Harry wondered in surprise, doubting there was anything worth seeing that the guards and investigating team of Aurors looking at it hadn't.

"No," Ron scoffed and rolled his eyes but stopped explaining as Hal Davis poked his head in with a stack of files.

The boy was a second year Auror-in-training that Harry had managed to keep that way as he was already being trained that way which in his opinion was the way that Aurors should be trained, he wasn't a fan of the Minister's speed training regime. He was tall and had short hair but bangs that fell across his eyes, he was Pansy Parkinson's son so Ron had taken a disliking to him despite being his mentor.

"I got the newest files you wanted from Leebin, Sir," Hal offered and carried them in.

Harry gestured for them to be placed on the desk in front of him. The Minister may have lowered the bar for entry to become an Auror but Aurors were still subject to psych evaluation so Harry was having Leebin evaluate the new Aurors the way they would be if they were applying to be one in the first place, they did need new Aurors but Harry would still rather have quality over quantity and not send a bunch of people out there to die when they couldn't handle it. Or they wound up being Soul Eater spies, he was already certain there were some in the department although not as exaggerated as Varanian seemed to think.

"Thank you, Davis," Harry said and inclined his head in gratitude.

"Now scram, you," Ron told the boy with a dismissive jerk of his thumb, "You have plenty more work to be doing, Aurors aren't slackers."

"Yes, Sir," Hal agreed without hesitation and left obediently, Harry was about to encourage Ron to try be nicer to the boy but Ron spoke first.

"So are you two ready to go?"

"Go where?" Cel wondered and Ron looked incredulous.

"To your son's first birthday party! We promised Gabrielle we'd be there."

"That was before our highest security prisoners went missing," Harry insisted and felt somewhat bad, he was the boy's godfather after all. Cel was married to Fleur's sister, Gabrielle, "But you two can go, I'll stay here and deal with this."

"Harry, surely you can spare an hour or so for your godson. At least for the cake, Mum made him a yummy chocolate cake," Ron told them excitedly, looking ready to start licking his lips in eagerness to eat, "That should put a smile on Vale's face, eh? You have the least smiley baby ever."

"I guess the war's getting to even the infants," Cel shrugged, "It doesn't matter, I'm with Harry."

"He's _your_ son!" Ron protested and Harry felt even guiltier, he hadn't meant to encourage Cel to put work over family.

"I'd rather miss a birthday he's not even going to remember and try make sure there's a world left for his next one then be there for his first and last birthday."

"This age is the best time to be a Dad, it's after they've started sleeping through the night but before the terrible twos. Enjoy the time before they turn into terrible disappointments," Ron offered jokingly and grinned, "You know, like how your children love watching Quidditch but have no interest in playing, that your son winds up the only Weasley in Hufflepuff and they're the stick in the mud while their friends are off having adventures. Ah, good times, your kids always keep surprising you."

"Hey, I was a Hufflepuff."

"You should be glad," Harry insisted stubbornly, "I'd rather my kids stay safe and sound at Hogwarts instead of running off and getting themselves at risk, which some of them do thanks to certain vigilantes who make them think they_ should_ go after dangerous criminals."

"Yeah, 'cause we didn't do that at all," Ron offered sardonically.

"I couldn't help but be mixed up in it, I was the chosen one. Albus isn't. There is no chosen one, no prophecy and no Dumbledore who knows what to do. It's just a dangerous war and after fighting the Dark my whole life, I don't want my children to be mixed up in it and have to go through that," Harry said seriously, "At least James is staying out of it, he just wants to be a professional Quidditch Seeker not a vigilante. I still can't believe he'll be coming of age in December."

"I still can't believe he's gay," Ron pointed out and Harry frowned.

"It doesn't matter that he's gay, we're perfectly accepting of it and I'd appreciate if you did too because I think he worries about it."

"Oh come on, of course I'm accepting of my nephew. I just didn't see that coming is all because he doesn't seem the type, I'd rather it be James then Hugo. Do you think a pink cake for his birthday would show him we accept his gayness? Ooh, that strawberry frosting is actually quite delicious. Damn, now I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry," Cel told him simply and Ron inclined his head in acceptance of the statement.

"Actually James might not be here for his birthday. He asked if he could stay with his friend, Carver, for the Christmas break as he's going to stay with his father in the Bahamas or somewhere tropical like that. Since he'll be of age and as incentive to behave, we told him if he doesn't get in trouble then he can. So far so good," Harry explained and let out a breath of relief although he still thought maybe he should've taken Flan up on his offer to counsel James privately, "I think maybe it was good for him to admit he was gay, maybe he was acting out because he was stressed about it and now has some peace of mind knowing we're okay with it because he hasn't been in trouble yet this year."

"Or maybe the whole attaché thing is working out after all."

"I don't trust that Rutherford and he put them in seating plans for meals, all three of my kids are upset they can't sit with their friends anymore."

"I had no friends when I was in Hogwarts."

"Come on, let's go to the party," Ron pleaded with them again, "This talk of lunch and cake is making me even hungrier. And we can reminisce there."

"You're the only one who's mentioned cake."

"Alright, we'll go," Harry agreed and both men looked at him somewhat in surprise, "But just for a little bit, at least in my case."

Ron was rather pleased with this decision, Cel seemed worried but they all were these days at one point or another. Talking about their children had made him feel like they should go, Vale shouldn't have to miss out on seeing his dad because there was a war going on. Harry made sure things would be alright while he was gone for an hour or so before leaving with the other two, picking up Teddy and Victoire who were Aurors themselves now and Louis who was an Auror-in-training - Harry wanted his nephew trained right - as well as Hermione and Percy from their departments. Molly and Arthur were hosting the party at the Burrow, Gabrielle, Bill, George and Ginny were already there, as was Freddie, his girlfriend Caitlin and their baby daughter, Charla. Luna and Rolf Scamander also came, Dom didn't show up though.

Vale was an odd baby, he was a beautiful child and had his father's sandy hair and dark eyes but odd. He was somewhat lethargic and disinterested in the world, it took a lot of coaxing and encouragement to get him to even try tearing the wrapping paper. Ron was also right, he was an incredibly unsmiley baby. Harry spent most of the party zoned out worrying about the war though and feeling rather useless as the Shadow Master was in Greece right now with still no idea how to capture him even though they had the magic repressing potion to contain him, he thought Voldemort's son was doing a good job of living up to his father's legacy. He also needed to capture Varanian before he could do any more damage and drag his kids into danger again. After the present opening, they had the cake much to Ron's delight and sang happy birthday to the little guy. The lone candle on the plate of chocolate cake actually seemed to hold Vale's interest and he cried when they blew it out for him, Harry offered to take him as he didn't want any cake and felt bad for paying so little attention so he went to comfort his little godson. He sighed wistfully, missing the days when his own children were babies. At least then he only had to worry about protecting them from danger going after them not them running to danger as well.

"Shh, it's okay," Harry offered soothingly as he rocked the little guy, carrying him away from the object that had upset him to try take his mind off it and it did seem to be calming him.

"No," Vale shot out immediately, the favorite word in his limited vocabulary.

"Harry Potter?" a voice questioned and he spun to see a bedraggled blond woman lowering a Disillusionment Charm.

"No," Vale repeated while Harry whipped out his wand somewhat awkwardly as he was holding Vale but the woman held up her hands in surrender.

"Please don't, I'm not a Soul Eater," the woman insisted in slightly accented English, he couldn't tell whether she had a slight tinge of olive on her skin or if it was dirt, her brown eyes looked at him pleadingly and he noticed two old-looking bracelets on her wrists, "My name is Leila Akram, I escaped Athens and the Soul Eaters have been trying to kill me ever since."

"Athens?" Harry wondered, hope bulging as his eyes did. He wanted to know what was going on there, she nodded and eyed Vale sadly.

"No," Vale said again determinedly, Harry chose to ignore him.

"I can offer you protection, would you be willing to tell me what's going on there?"

"No."

"I can do better," Leila told him seriously as her eyes went back to his, "I studied artifacts for a living, I studied the Scepter and I may have some useful information that may help get it away from the Shadow Master. I just need some from you first."

"NO!" Vale screamed and pointed.

Harry followed the little finger to see cloaked figure was stepping out of the shadows with a jet of green already flying towards Leila's back, a Killing Curse couldn't be blocked. He threw himself at Leila to push her out of the way, they landed on the ground and the curse missed them. Vale started crying as they scrambled to get to his feet, he put himself in front of Leila and threw a stunner at the attacker as he did so. The attacker deflected and he heard a crack, glancing to see Leila had disapparate and when he looked back to the attacker he was gone. They were both gone.

* * *

**Part 4: **The First One

* * *

Scorpius thought the confrontation with Maurice went about as well as expected, he knew Maurice wouldn't take them pointing out their concerns about Lenore well especially when Rose had gone and started it off in... well, not the most tactful of ways. He supposed really they should just be glad that Maurice hadn't destroyed something or someone before storming off, Rose returning and asking to talk to Abby alone was surprising but welcome. He'd guess something along the lines of an apology was said as they were talking again when they were returned, it was somewhat awkward between them but it was a start.

Unfortunately, Michael had to go to the Hospital Wing due to the full moon and Maurice didn't seem to be speaking to them, not that day or the day after which was the Friday and the full moon. Not only wasn't it not good as he missed his friend, it was bad because that weekend was also when Maurice would need to Polyjuice into him for Rutherford's detention. He was very nervous that morning and his mood only soured more when he saw Michael had harmed himself again, Marigold was bandaging up Michael's wrists again. He kicked himself mentally, Michael wouldn't be hurting himself at all if he could just become an animagus already. He knew it took time but it would be almost a year since he'd started training for it and he didn't have time, Michael needed help now.

"Hey Scorpius," Maurice said, pulling Scorpius from his thoughts as he left the Hospital Wing.

"I was afraid you weren't talking to me anymore," Scorpius commented in relief but Maurice's eyes flashed darkly.

"I'm still mad at you and the others, Lenore was upset when I asked her if she was using me and now I might've lost her. However, I have no gripe with Varanian and to protect him I still need to cover for you. So I'll still Polyjuice - hence why I'm here - and work on teaching you Occlumency but outside of soldier duty, I'm mad at you people," Maurice told him and looked somewhere between upset and angry, "I was happy and you ruined it. You know, just because I think about things differently than you people, it doesn't mean I don't have feelings."

"Maurice, we were just concerned about you getting hurt."

"Well now I am hurt so great job you people did there," Maurice spat bitterly and pulled out a vial of potion, "Just spit in that and go hide out in the Room, "I don't want to talk to you right now."

Maurice was true to his word, he went to both detentions that weekend without hesitation albeit even more unhappily than usual. Scorpius was starting to feel bad for telling him about Lenore, he didn't know her after all. Maybe she wasn't that bad, Maurice could come across as cold-hearted too but he was still a good person when you got to know him so maybe Lenore was too. On the other hand, it didn't mean that she wasn't a bad person. There was no way to definitively tell. Either way, it might've just been better to leave Maurice's relationship as it was and let it play out for better or worse, it wasn't really any of their business after all. Maybe they did take him for granted sometimes, it wasn't a crime for him to want some time away from being a soldier with a girl. It was quite a normal thing at their age and it wasn't like Scorpius didn't enjoy spending time with Molly, finding out about his mother probably hadn't been easy on him either.

"How's it going with Lenore?" Scorpius asked him after their Occlumency session on Monday, he still couldn't keep him out for more than a minute. However, he thought Maurice's Legilimency skills were improving as the flashes of memory were increasing in length.

"I told you, she was upset," Maurice pointed out with a glare in his direction, "You'll be happy to know."

"I know but is she still upset."

"Well she hasn't tried to talk to me."

"Have you tried to talk to her?" Scorpius wondered and Maurice shook his head.

"No. I have no idea what to say to her," Maurice admitted sadly, "I don't know how this stuff works, it's easier being a solider. I've been trained in that, I know war, I know dueling, I know magic, I know Dark Magic, I know how to kill, I know how to hurt, I know all this stuff. But I don't know how to deal with this emotional stuff. I'm trying, I'm really trying because I'm terrified of ending up a heartless, psychotic warrior like my Mother but it's hard. Lenore was great for talking to about that, her mother abandoned her too so she knows what it's like and she's logical like me and I could always relate to that."

"I didn't know that."

"Of course you didn't, because you don't know anything about her and you didn't care," Maurice complained unhappily as he went to leave, "Bye."

* * *

_By eight, the clothes they'd been given at birth were almost close to fitting them. Tommy sighed, he sat in the corner of his cell with his knees hugged to chest for warmth against the continuous cold. He gazed up wistfully at the small window above, wishing he was free as his young mind tried to form images of the world he'd never seen. It must be amazing to be free. The Dementors had just been recently with the midday water, it quenched their thirst but the presence of the Dementors already beat their spirits back down. His mother lay on the bed seemingly lost in memories while Sal paced unhappily, running her hand along the bars as she did so which caused a slight clanging sound._

_"Sal, stop that," their mother chided her, Sal paused for a moment before continuing as she had been before, "Sal, I said stop that. It's annoying."_

_"No," Sal said plainly and their mother's dark eyes flashed with rage at the defiance._

_"Just do as you're told," Tommy hissed at her in Parseltongue, not wanting her to get in trouble but Sal didn't stop._

_"What did you say to me?" their mother asked of her as she sat up slowly._

_"I said no!" Sal snapped determinedly, "We're stuck here and it sucks and if it makes me take my mind off things to walk up and down tapping the bars then I will do it!"_

_"I'M YOUR MOTHER AND YOU WILL DO WHAT I TELL YOU TO DO, SALAZIA!" their mother screamed as she leaped to her feet, slapping Sal across the face with enough force to knock her daughter down._

_"You alright?" Tommy questioned quietly of his sister as he helped her to stand, now with a livid red hand shape imprinted onto her face._

_"I just hate this!" Sal cried and banged her balled hands against the bars._

_To Tommy's - and everyone's surprise - there was a brilliant flash of blue light and the next thing he knew, they were tumbling through the normally solid bars. He and Sal fell onto the hard ground in the corridor outside the cell, they looked back in shock as their mother pounced at the bars but she didn't slip through. Tommy jumped up and pushed them to try get back in but he found himself touching metal again, he grabbed them and pulled but they were still solid._

_"Wow," Sal breathed as she looked around and Tommy did the same while he felt his heart start to pound in panic, it was the first time they'd been outside the cell without Dementors and their mother was still inside! A smile crept onto Sal's face though and she stood up straight, "It feels good to be on the other side, doesn't it?"_

_"How did you even do that?" Tommy wondered of her worriedly and she shrugged, looking genuinely stumped._

_"It's accidental magic and it's about time," their mother chastised her with something of a glare in Sal's direction, "Now just stay by me, the Dementors will come around eventually and put you back in."_

_"Why would we want to go back in?" Sal asked in bemusement, "We're free."_

_"Because you're not going to be able to get out of here and the Dementors might kiss you if they think you're trying to escape!"_

_"Yes, Mother," Tommy agreed obediently and fearful of being kissed, his mother gave him a smile as he stayed by her._

_"I don't think so," Sal decided stubbornly and he looked back to her in surprise as she folded her arms, "How often are we going to be free? Never. I'm not wasting it standing by the cell. Come on, Tommy."_

_"SALAZIA, YOU WILL DO WHAT I SAY!" their mother shrieked at her but Sal didn't budge, if anything her eyes only flashed angrily at being yelled at._

_"I think we should do what Mother says," Tommy pointed out pleadingly but already suspecting she wasn't going to listen to reason when she was ticked off with their mother for being yelled at and slapped._

_"Better to die free then live as a prisoner so come on, Tommy, we should stick together."_

_"You can't be free if you're soulless and dead."_

_"Then fine, stay here and be a prisoner forever! I'll go all by my own," Sal stated before turning on her heel and racing off._

_"Sal!"_

_"YOU GET BACK HERE, YOU HEAR ME?!" their mother screamed after her, "SALAZIA! SAL!"_

_"I'll get her," Tommy offered and headed off after her, "Sal, wait! Sal!"_

_"TOMMY, NO! NOT YOU TOO! STAY! TOMMY! SAL! GET BACK HERE THE BOTH OF YOU!"_

_Their mother's yells echoed after him but he didn't stop, he wasn't going to stand and wait while his sister might be having her soul sucked out. He had to protect her. He walked as quickly as he could but she was faster, she wasn't even walking, he was pretty sure she was running. He pushed himself into a run too - hoping he was doing it right - to catch up to her as they came around the bend of the staircase to another long, dark corridor of caged prisoners. Most seemed too lost within their own minds to notice the children running by him, the occasionally filthy face looked up disinterestedly at the sound of feet slapping against the stone. He found that… that it was kind of fun, he'd just started to enjoy it when he almost ran into Sal who'd came to a halt at the end cell before the next staircase._

_"Yes, I am. How did you know that?" Sal was saying to the prisoner of that cell, the man was holding the bars and looking at them in shock. He was as emaciated just as they and their mother – and seemingly all prisoners - were, just as pale and filthy with matted long wavy black hair. Tommy wondered if all people looked like that or just denizens of Azkaban. The man's eyes were different though, a much lighter shade of brown then he was used to seeing. It was a nice color, Tommy hoped that meant he was a nice person._

_"I... I knew about the plan and the pregnancy, your mother is my sister-in-law," the man told them looking sympathetic, his voice raspy as if from disuse and the bell rang out in Tommy's mind, "I'd thought... thought you wouldn't be kept here though, that's just a cruel fate. Twins? Or do my eyes deceive me?"_

_"Twins," Tommy confirmed in amazement at talking to someone who wasn't his mother or sister, as well as the fact it proved his mother right, "Are you Rabastan Lestrange."_

_"Yes. At least I used to be."_

_"Does that make you our uncle?"_

_"I erm... don't really... sort of... maybe," Rabastan babbled uncertainly, his eyes darting between them sadly but curiously, "How did you even get out?"_

_"Magic," Sal offered cheerfully, "It was nice talking to you, Rabastan, but we have to go now."_

_"Yes, we have to get back to Mother," Tommy agreed but Sal was heading for the next flight of stairs._

_"I don't think so."_

_"Be... Be careful, kids!" Rabastan tried to call after them but his weak voice didn't carry well, "D-Dementors."_

_"Yes so!" Tommy insisted and followed her into the stairwell, "Sal, we have to go back."_

_"Not yet, Tommy," Sal told him, looking incredibly desperate as they continued down, "This may be the only chance of freedom we'll ever have, I don't want to spend it sitting outside the cell. Look, we're walking around right now, walking we're we choose to walk, talking if we choose to talk. Isn't this amazing?"_

_"Not dying is amazing too," Tommy pointed out, not wanting her to know he agreed with her somewhat but he thought she knew anyway._

_"Just a little more and then we'll go back."_

_"How much more?"_

_"How about until you catch me?" Sal offered with a smirk before bolting down the next corridor._

_"No fair, you had a head start!"_

_Tommy threw himself into a run after her and he soon found himself smiling oddly. He got lost in the moment, either the exhilaration of running or the fact they were free and unhindered at that moment in time but he felt a giddy rush of excitement as they raced through the halls of Azkaban prison. The corridors of cells were a straight stretch and then there were the curved descending staircases which led to the next one, they all looked the same but there was so much space to run, to move. Tommy liked being able to move. The thrill made his heart pound, his unused muscles burn and took the breath from his lungs but he enjoyed every single second._

_He rounded the bend of the next staircase and felt his joy being drained from him as if a plug had been pulled in his small well of happiness, the warmth from exercising being stripped from him like a layer of clothing being torn from his body. He slowed his run as he recognized the familiar feeling, there was only one thing that caused that. Dementors. The first thing he saw on the floor was the Dementor and the hooded figure had its slimy, scabbed fingers around his sister's wrist. Time seemed to decelerate as she looked up at the creature in fear, he could almost feel the terrified frantic beat of her heart as she tried to pull away but it held her tight. The towering Dementor was lowering its head to her, leaning in for the kiss that would deprive her of her soul._

_"NO!"_

_Tommy screamed the word in panic with every last breath of air left in his lungs which wasn't a lot, it was lost either way in the thrum of magical energy that erupted out of him. He was just so desperate to protect his sister. A blinding flash of pale yellow light engulfed the world around him, the dark shape of the Dementor was all he could see through the field of gold. And it was convulsing, its body twisting and contorting violently. Even stranger was that he could see its shadow but it wasn't following the same movements anymore. He cried out in agony as he felt the power coursing through his veins, his skull felt like it was splitting fully in half and he clutched it just in case to try keep his head together. Through eyes blurred by tears, he saw it was stretched out further into the sea of gold before snapping off abruptly. The Dementor stopped moving then, instead it just hung there limply._

_The Dementor's shadow shot towards him as the light died, he gasped in both pain and for breath as he felt cold. His body felt as if it was on fire except from acrid iciness instead of heat, he collapsed onto the ground as if a weight had fallen on him. Invisible tendrils of icy cold snaked around him and pierced through him, chilling him to the core as they bound him to the ground. He lay there crying as the feeling started to recede but the sting of cold remained especially inside his throbbing skull, Sal knelt by his side and tried to help him sit up. He fell against her, sobbing and shivering, feeling sapped of the strength. He had no idea what had just happened but he hated it and it scared him, Sal half-cradled and half-hugged him as he cried._

_"What did you do?" a rough, guttural, inhuman voice asked, the sound sending waves of chilling fear coursing through him. He glanced and saw the speaker was a Dementor, more had arrived and a couple were prodding their still unmoving comrade._

_"I have no idea, it was an accident," Sal blurted out shakily and positioned her trembling body in front of him protectively, "And it was my fault. Please, don't hurt my brother."_

_The Dementor advanced on her and Tommy whimpered in terror, he hadn't the strength to even think of something to do. It got close enough to send him spiraling back into his memories of eternal imprisonment and the pain from whatever had just happened, he was vaguely aware of ice cold viscous limbs grabbing him before he passed out. The next thing he knew, he was lying on the bed bundled up in the burlap blanket, still weak and shivering from the cold inside his mind._

_"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT, SALAZIA!" his mother's voice was screaming and he heard a slap indicating she'd struck Sal again, "I TOLD YOU TO LISTEN TO ME, I TOLD YOU AND NOW LOOK AT YOUR BROTHER! WHY CAN'T YOU DO ANYTHING USEFUL!? WHY CAN'T YOU DO ANYTHING?! LOOK AT WHAT YOU'VE DONE!"_

_"M-M-Mother..." Tommy tried to speak to stop her yelling at Sal, his voice was weak but his mother heard and swooped down on him immediately._

_"Shh, don't try to talk right now. Just you rest, Tommy, Mother's here," his mother said to him soothingly as she caressed his cheek._

_He managed to push his eyes open a crack to see his mother crouching by him while Sal pulled her knees to her chest in the corner, her body shaking to as she silently cried. Tommy drifted back into unconscious._

* * *

_"We need to feed_," One insisted using Jack's voice as they lay tossing and turning in his bed, the craving for pain gnawing uncomfortably at their insides.

"Fine," Jack agreed in surrender, "But I'm pretty much out of people who deserve it. Why don't we go after some Soul Eaters?"

"_Absolutely not!_" One snapped at him, much to Jack's surprise, "_Are you completely stupid? Sal is only fine with our existence because we're not doing anything to interfere with her plans, if we start killing her people then she'll go after us and she has the power to destroy us_."

"How do you figure that?"

"_It's a common misconception that Dementors and their Shadows cannot be killed but simply repelled, however if you throw enough power at them then they'll be vaporized. There are only two people alive I know are capable of that and Sal is one of them, even without the Scepter in her grasp. And humans are pretty easy to destroy so she could conceivably wipe us off the face of the Earth, she won't hesitate to do so if we start killing her people so we're not going to kill her people_."

"Then who do we kill?" Jack wondered with a scowl on their face.

"_Anyone but Sal's people_."

"One, I don't want to kill someone who doesn't deserve it."

"_You regularly watch Crystal's little ones for her, you could kill one of them. She has five children, one won't be missed and we could eliminate the threat of being ratted out_."

"It would matter!" Jack insisted seriously and One rolled their eyes, "People may be interchangeable to you but they're not, she'd miss a child if they died. And I'm not killing a child anyway."

"_We could kill your sister while she's here then_."

"I don't want to kill my sister!"

"_Well we have to kill someone,_" One insisted and Jack took a deep breath, feeling the hunger chewing on his insides before jolting at the sound of activity in the kitchen much to his surprise as it was very early, _"It sounds like she's awake if you changed your mind. Her life is pretty meaningless, no one would care if she died and alcoholics are notorious for bad health_."

"I'm not killing my own sister, I love my family," Jack told him, not for the first time but got up in anyway, "I'm not killing her, I just want to make sure she's okay because she's up really early."

_"If you killed her, you wouldn't have to check on her. What is with you people and sparing your siblings?"_

Jack decided to ignore that as they left his room, going out into the open plan kitchen and living area which was spotless as it was rarely used. Annie was standing at the kitchen island counter with a bag slung over her shoulder as if she was going somewhere, her hands were trembling slightly as she opened and started on a bottle of beer. Her gray aura hovered around her like a cloud and the glowing orb inside her heart indicated she was magical, she glanced at him as he stalked over to her.

"What are you doing?!" Jack demanded of her and she cringed slightly before he snatched the bottle from her, placing it down on the counter.

"Ugh, not you too," Annie complained and grabbed up the bottle again, he took it from her again and put it on the counter once more.

"You need to stop drinking! I get that it's hard getting out of jail but I got sober and so can you, I'm worried about you."

"You never gave a damn about my life the entire time you've been alive, why start now?" Annie snapped at him as she snatched the bottle back and took a swig.

"That's not true," Jack insisted firmly and Annie gave him a derisive snort.

"Yes it is, you don't know anything about my life."

_She's a bitch, let's kill her_

"I know you need to stop drinking."

"Maybe I don't want to be sober, maybe I like drinking. I've done it since I was barely thirteen."

"You started drinking when you were thirteen?" Jack wondered in surprise and Annie smirked triumphantly as she took another swig.

"You see? You _don't_ know anything about my life."

"You'll end up dead like Dad if you don't stop!" Jack yelled at her in frustration and she cringed again, rubbing her head, "Alcoholism is bad for your health. I don't want you to die and neither would Michael."

_If she's going to die anyway, can't we just speed up the process?_

"I know the effects of alcohol, I know what it can do for your health, I know it's what killed Dad but you know what? _I don't care_," Annie pointed out seriously as she stood up straighter, shifting the weight of the bag and downing the last of the bottle, "See you."

"You're not going to have breakfast first?"

"I'm hung over, I'll throw up if I eat right now. I have a long drive, I'll pick something up when I'm feeling less nauseous."

"Where are you even going?! Why do you keep going off?!"

"None of your business."

"And you wonder why I don't know anything about your life?! Maybe it's because you never tell me anything!" Jack snapped and Annie turned back to him, "What is going on with you?!"

"What's going on with me? What's going on with _you_?!" Annie countered and he felt a stab of fear that she might've noticed he could teleport or One or something, "I've heard you talking to yourself, you sometimes talk strange, dress strange, act strange, come and go oddly, I didn't hear you come in last night. And it's not the first time."

_She's onto us and she's an adult, it's dangerous. We need to kill her_

"I'm not doing that!" Jack hissed at one before realizing he was still in conversation with Annie, "And... And maybe you would have heard me if you weren't drinking yourself to death."

"Or maybe there's something going on with you and you're hiding something bad."

"_Shut up!_" One snapped as he lashed out with their first before he could stop it, striking Annie violently in the eye and throwing her back to hit the wall and smash through a side table.

"Annie, are you okay?!" Jack burst out worriedly and scrambled to help her up, "I'm so sorry, I don't know what-"

He was cut off as Annie launched an uppercut, hitting him straight in the nose and sending him spiraling back to hit the counter. He put their hands to their nose, blood was gushing from it openly as Annie straightened up. She was wincing and blinking rapidly as her left eye was now red and swelling from the force of the blow, she shook her hand as if the blow had hurt her.

_She wouldn't have punched you if you'd killed her any of the thousands of times I've said it. Kill her now. I'm starving_

"What the hell?!" Jack demanded of her, ignoring One.

"I'm sorry, I thought it was Punch-Your-Sibling-In-The-Face-For-No-Reason Day!" Annie offered sarcastically as she put a hand to her injured eye, "What the hell yourself!"

"I think you broke my nose!"

"Well you punched me through a table so I think we're even. And now I have to drive with this," Annie complained before heading to the door, pausing briefly to look back to him, "If you don't want to tell me what shit you've got mixed up in this time then I hope you realize you can do that without hitting me. Happy Punch-Your-Sibling-In-The-Face-For-No-Reason Day."

_Don't let her go, we need to kill her_

"Annie-" Jack began but she left, he sighed before turning on One as he withdrew his wand to try heal their nose, "And for the last time, we're not killing my sister and what the hell?!"

"_We need to kill!_" One yelled through his voice and Jack oddly thought of someone from his conversation with Annie, "_We need to destroy a soul, a punch and some mental anguish isn't enough!_"

"We'll kill the driver who killed my Mum, okay?! Are you happy?!" Jack shrieked at it feeling his eyes tearing up, he would've buried his face in his hands if his nose wasn't bleeding. He didn't want to do this anymore.

"_Well it's too late for you, Jack. We're One now_."


	5. Chapter 5: A Memorable Outing

_**Parts (16-19)**_

* * *

**V  
**

**Chapter 5  
**

A Memorable Outing

* * *

**Part 1: **Tuesday

* * *

"Any luck with Maurice?" Abby asked of him the next day at breakfast, he had actually come to like the seating arrangement anymore or rather appreciate that at least he was opposite one of his friends as the rest of his them didn't get to talk to each other at all during meals. Of course it was still pointless, as Maurice had said people came to the meals at different times.

"No," Scorpius admitted unhappily, "I knew talking to him about Lenore would go terribly."

"Actually I thought it went pretty well considering its Maurice. We're probably lucky he didn't destroy the Library and light us all on fire, I'm sure he'll talk to us again when he cools down."

"I suppose. How's it going with Rose?"

"Okay I guess, she apologized for the badge thing and hasn't reneged on it yet," Abby shrugged, "She's having a hard time feeling her parents are disappointed in her, probably doesn't help they spend so much time working these days. I guess I take it for granted that I'm close to my Dad."

"I don't know why that would bother her, have you seen the Weasleys?" Scorpius wondered, "They always seem so close."

"Is your family not like that?"

"My family just has a different way of doing things."

"What are you doing for Hogsmeade by the way?" Abby asked him and he blinked in surprise, she elaborated before he could ask, "You know since your parents like to meet up with you in Hogsmeade but you want to see Aaron."

"Oh right, no they're not coming. I told them I'd been working so hard studying for my OWLs and trying to think of a career that I really wanted a break in Hogsmeade to relax not talk about it with them, they decided it would be okay for me to go it alone for now anyway so I can still see Aaron. Maybe spend some time with Molly if there's any time left over."

"Good."

"What are you doing for Hogsmeade?" Scorpius inquired of her and she shifted uncomfortably, her eyes darted down the table then back to her plate of food and she blushed, "Abby?"

"I erm... Well I was... think... thinking about um... asking someone... someone to... to err... go... go with me. Like a date," Abby explained, "But urm... I don't... err... don't know... think... know that... erm... if they'd... erm... go with me."

"Who did you want to ask?"

"I erm... Albus," Abby admitted quietly and bit her lip as her eyes darted back down the table to Albus as if afraid he might overhear.

"Our Albus?" Scorpius repeated in surprise and she gestured for him to lower his voice even though there was no way Albus could hear them over the buzz of conversation from the people in between them. He wasn't even looking in their direction and instead was - rather messily - devouring a two slices of toast with bacon, sausage and eggs wedged in between. It must have been smothered in ketchup because the sauce started oozing from it as he bit into it, dribbling down his chin. Very appealing.

"Yes. I think he thinks of me more as a sister or something though so I don't know if I should ask him or if it'd just be weird," Abby told him still quietly and looked somewhat torn, "But then if I don't ask then I'll never know so what do you think?"

"Me?" Scorpius wondered feeling absolutely clueless, "I erm... I think err... Probably better to ask then at least you'll have closure if he says no and a date if he says yes so... Maybe risk it, he's pretty keen on a girlfriend anyway."

"So you think he's say yes just out of desperation?"

"Maybe. Yes. No. I don't know."

They didn't mention it again as they finished their breakfast, Scorpius made sure to pass Molly on the way out of the Great Hall and give her a peck on the cheek. He was very glad he was already dating the girl he really liked and cared about instead of watching and waiting from a far, wondering what she thought and afraid of rejection. Why did people think single life was cool again? He had Potions, Runes and Charms that morning and Michael was thankfully back from the Hospital Wing now. He did still seem somewhat tired though while Albus was full of energy and also worried about dating.

"I only have four days to ask out someone for Hogsmeade," Albus explained as they worked on the essay of the uses of the Invigoration Draught they were studying and had made yesterday, "It's prime dating time and I have to get a girlfriend, I've already had my sixteenth birthday now. I'm getting old."

"Sixteen isn't that old," Scorpius pointed out.

"You two were born in August, it's almost two years before you come of age but for me it's only three-hundred and fifty days then I'm a man and a man should have had his first kiss and had a girlfriend. James is gay and he's done it. If I don't get a girlfriend within three-hundred and fifty years then I'll have passed the time when it will have been not embarrassing to not have had a first kiss."

"Don't you think you're overthinking this?"

"You two have already had a girlfriend and first kiss so you don't get this as a big deal but for me it is."

"Well look on the bright side, Albus," Michael offered sounding unhappy as he looked up from what he was writing, "It's better to be sixteen and to have never had a girlfriend then to be sixteen and to have a new son or daughter."

"Michael, your parents are muggles. Wizards have spells and potions to stop that sort of thing," Albus pointed out as if it were the most obvious thing in the world before scowling, "Spells and potions that Freddie and his girlfriend Caitlin apparently didn't know. And anyway, I'm not even talking about going that far. A first kiss and to be able to walk side by side holding hands with an actual real pretty girl who thinks I'm awesome is all I want."

"Muggles do have- Never mind."

"There are five things you need to know for a date: When, where, what, who and how. I have the when as in when the date is, would be this Saturday. I have the where as in where the date will be, is Hogsmeade obviously. I have the what as in what to do, I take her to one of those fancy new restaurants then take her for ice cream afterwards for desert and serenade her with my poetry before finally surprising her with the biggest bouquet of flowers I can afford after blowing my allowance on the fancy restaurant. All I need is the who as in who I want to date and how as in how do I get them to date me."

"Try picking a girl you like and asking them to go out with you."

"That's the thing, I don't know _who_ I like," Albus sighed heavily, "I mean there's good-looking girls but none that jump out and scream they're the future Mrs Potter so how do I decide who to ask?"

"Is that's what's been holding you back?"

"Why are you being so sarcastic today?" Scorpius asked of Michael.

"I'm just on a low after the full moon I guess," Michael sighed and shrugged.

"Well maybe you should take some Invigoration Draught," Albus offered and patted Michael on the back, "Feels weird to do that now you got taller. But anyway, how do I decide what girl to ask?"

"I don't know, try asking girls you like and see who says yes first."

"Or maybe you should just think of people you know who you might like, you know who are girls," Scorpius pointed out as he thought of Abby wanting to go out with him, trying to steer him in her direction. Abby and Rose were at a different table further back.

"Like who? The people I hang out with are either dudes or family," Albus pointed out with a scowl.

"I just mean-"

"Alright class, time's up," Professor Vipera announced and Scorpius was rather glad for the interruption, "You are to finish the essay as homework for the next lesson on Friday, Michael you have until Monday. Class dismissed."

"You're lucky, Michael," Albus sighed as they packed up their stuff, "I wish I had until Monday to do it, we still have that essay on counter curses for Ashain for Friday and I have an essay on the history of cinema for Muggle Studies also for Friday."

"And I wish I wasn't Dyslexic," Michael said as they headed off.

"You should've taken Divination, Elina's pretty light on homework," Scorpius added.

"Well at least I didn't take Ancient Runes," Albus stated with a grin as the girls caught up with them, "Have fun working while Abby and I get a free period."

"Thank you, we will," Rose scoffed as she joined him and Michael on the way to class while the other two went off to do whatever they did in the free period they had instead of Study of Ancient Runes.

"Are you still going to see Aaron on the Hogsmeade trip?" Michael asked of him as they walked, Rose frowned.

"Yeah, why?" Scorpius wondered.

"Because I was wondering if I could go with you, I wanted to talk to Annie."

"How can you both be thinking about Aaron when we have OWLs to study for?!" Rose complained at them both and rolled her eyes, "Honestly, you're as bad as Maurice used to be before the blood rushed out of his brain and into another part of his anatomy the second he saw that harlot."

"We wouldn't be able to take OWLs if the Shadows win the war, how can you _not_ be thinking about it?" Scorpius pointed out, "And Maurice and Lenore are fighting right now, she was upset about being accused of using him."

"Well that's some solace. Do you think she cried about her evil plot being foiled?"

"I don't know. And sure, Michael, you can come if you want."

"Thank you," Michael offered, sounding grateful.

They had Ancient Runes which turned out to be quite challenging, Professor Kresmir told them to write a short story in Runic just as a way for them to practice the runes and they'd continue it all week. Scorpius decided he could rule creative writing out of his list of potential career options, thinking up things was not easy. After that they had Charms, a boring revision lesson even if Grant wasn't an asshole who Scorpius despised. After lunch it was Transfiguration with the also insufferable Midas, they also had revision to do while she went around watching them try a practical magic spell individuality because it was safer that way. After that was Arithmancy and since Scorpius didn't take it, it was a free period. Rose wanted them to study with her so he and Albus went to practice Quidditch with Latimer as he had half an hour until his next class.

"You realize we have practice later today anyway?" Scorpius pointed out as they headed out.

"And the match is in eighteen days," Albus said seriously, "I mean it's not as urgent as getting a date for Hogsmeade this weekend but it's the next big thing, it's actually pretty scary. The whole school will be watching me. Including girls. You can always go back inside if you want."

"I'd take flying over studying, I'm not worried about my OWLs. I'm worried-"

"Yeah, yeah, the war, I know. There's nothing we can really do about it right now though so might as well focus on the important things in life, dating and flying."

"Do you actually have a date?" Latimer asked of him curiously while Scorpius rolled his eyes, did really no one care about the war but him?

"Not yet. Do you?"

"Albus, I'm ugly as fuck. People are being nicer or at least neutral to me now that I'm Head Boy but they still have no interest in dating me, I give up on women. Until someone invents a potion to cure scarring, I'm going to be alone."

"Don't be so down on yourself," Albus offered enthusiastically, "You have lots of things going for you besides looks."

"Yeah, you're right. Lots of girls like ugly, one-footed, mediocre guys who are stable enough to have attempted suicide before," Latimer quipped sarcastically as they reached the pitch where a few Slytherins were leaving, "I'm a real catch."

"You have lots of good qualities and you're not fat!"

"It doesn't really matter anyway, this is my last year of Hogwarts and I want to help Aaron full time after I graduate so it's not the best time to be dating. Maybe after the war someone will have invented that potion to cure scarring."

"I don't think-" Albus started to say but stopped as he walked into one of the Slytherins leaving, Grozda Krum the Slytherin Captain, Albus face went scarlet as the Quaffle was knocked from her hands, "I-I-I erm... I'm s-sorry. I didn't... didn't see you, you know with... with my eyes."

"It is alright," Grozda shrugged it off and gave a slight smile as Albus picked up the Quaffle, tossing it back to her and she caught it with practiced hands, "You are going to practice during day?"

"Have... Have a free... free you know... erm... thing so we thought that... err... we err... practice for the match in eighteen days."

"Great minds think alike," Grozda offered and threw the Quaffle back to him, Albus yelped in surprise and fumbled to hold onto it ultimately succeeding to which Grozda laughed, "You will need that for practicing then and if you catch like that then you probably need the practicing."

"I was just surprised," Albus babbled defensively, blushing again and Scorpius noticed the sheen of sweat on his brow.

"Well I shall give you the benefit of the doubt then. Good luck with your practicing," Grozda told him before heading by them.

"Th-Thanks, good yourself luck," Albus called after her and she glanced back with a raised eyebrow, Albus blushed again as she went off.

"I think you really are incapable of talking to girls, aren't you?" Latimer pointed out in amusement and Albus groaned.

"I know, it's going to make asking one out really difficult."

"It is."

"Any advice?"

"Yeah, don't do pretty much everything you just did talking to Krum and you'll do well," Latimer laughed and Albus threw the Quaffle at him, Latimer caught it easily though, "Seriously though, you need to try sound calm or at least intelligible."

At least Quidditch took the talk off dating, instead Scorpius came to realize how abysmal he was at being a Chaser. He may be a better flier then Albus but he wasn't the best at catching or throwing, he was absolutely terrible at tackling to get the back. Mostly he just had to play Keeper for them, he wasn't particularly great at that either and both scored on him more times than he saved although Latimer was noticeably the more talented of the two. They stopped and headed back inside when Latimer had his next class, he and Albus still had time left for their break but Scorpius wasn't the best for Albus to practice Chaser with alone.

"Okay, I've decided," Albus told him as they started heading up to Gryffindor Tower, "I'm going to ask out Gaia Kettleborn."

"Who?" Scorpius wondered and Albus rolled her eyes.

"She's a Hufflepuff in our year, that's her there," Albus pointed out and jabbed his finger at a blond girl with green eyes and a flower in her hair, he recognized her vaguely from classes, "She's cute, right?"

"I guess but you don't really know her, do you? Wouldn't you rather ask out someone that you do know?" Scorpius said, trying to steer him in Abby's direction again without saying anything, "Maybe someone will even ask you."

"Scor, what are the odds of that happening?" Albus scoffed as he hastily tried to smooth down his messy black hair, "No, it's the man's prerogative and unlikely a girl would ask me. Wish me luck."

"Al-" Scorpius started to say but Albus had already stridden over to Gaia, who was coming down the stairs with a group of friends.

"H-Hey Gaia," Albus greeted her, trying to lean casually against the staircase but he missed and fell. Gaia, her friends and the other people also on the staircase started laughing while he got up with his face red, "I'm okay! I'm okay, everyone."

"Good for you," Gaia commented and Albus ran a hand through his hair, presumably to try smooth it down again but it only made it stick up even more before leaning against the bannister, "So what did you want?"

"I-" Albus began but was cut off as the staircase started to move, throwing off his balance and he fell yet again except this time smashed his chin against the stone and even more laughter resulted. He got to his feet again, his face yet again red and his forehead started glistening with sweat, "I'm still okay!"

"So what do you want? I don't have all day."

"I jus-just err... wan-wanted... wanted to err... know if... err..." Albus babbled, clenching and unclenching his hands as he abandoned leaning against the bannister, sweat oozed down his brow, "You... You may-maybe wan-wanted to... to go to... to H-Hogsmeade with? Like... Like a date."

"I'm a girl," Gaia pointed out moodily as she folded her arms crossly, glaring at Albus.

"I-I know, a v-very pr-pretty girl, that's why I like you and you know you seem like a lovely person because I don't just care about looks, I like that flower in your hair, is it a flower? Do you like flowers? I like flowers, I like Herbology, do you like Herbology? I've seen you in Herbology, you're pretty good at Herbology, I'm sure you're pretty good at whatever you put your mind too because you seem like such a smart person," Albus stated, starting of stuttering and launching into a rapid, garbled speech that Scorpius could barely follow.

"Are you saying I look old?!" Gaia demanded of him, "I've heard you're only into old women."

"What?! No! No, no, no, no, no, that's absolutely not true! I don't just like old women."

"So you do like old women?!"

"No, of course I don't. Not unless they're beautiful. I mean-"

"I'm not old, I'm fifteen! You freak!" Gaia yelled at him before storming off as the staircase clicked back into place, her friends throwing Albus filthy looks as they followed. Albus buried his face in his hands.

"Very smooth, Potter," a familiar voice drawled sarcastically and he turned back to see Lenore behind them, she smirked at Albus before continuing by them, "Also, I told you so. Everyone thinks you're gay or like older women."

"Lenore! Lenore! Lenore, wait!" Albus called after her and raced up the steps, she turned back and Scorpius also followed, "You're a person."

"Am I? According to you people, I'm some kind of inhuman monster," Lenore commented before turning away from them again but Albus followed so Scorpius did as well.

"Oh come on, you're not still upset about that?!"

"No, I don't care what you people think of me."

"Then why are you walking away!?" Albus demanded of her and she turned back to them with a roll of her eyes.

"Because I have a stupid Patronus lesson to get to."

"What's the matter? Can't you do one?"

"Because I'm so evil, you mean?" Lenore wondered and shook her head, "And actually I can do a corporeal Patronus, which is why it's stupid to waste an hour on it."

"What is it? A snake?"

"No. But even if it was, I'd rather have a snake then a donkey," Lenore pointed out and started to walk on again.

"Damn, I can't believe Maurice told her that," Albus complained as he blushed again, he was rather embarrassed about his Patronus being a donkey. He hurried after Lenore again though, "Lenore, wait!"

"What do you want?!" Lenore asked irritably as she turned back yet again, "I really do have class and I don't want to be late."

"I just thought that maybe you could tell people that I'm not gay or into old women so girls will like me since."

"Why would I do that?"

"Because it's the truth? I really need a date for Hogsmeade."

"Okay, let me rephrase. What do I get out of it?" Lenore corrected herself and Albus scowled.

"You know, maybe people wouldn't think you were such a horrible person if you didn't constantly want things."

"You're right, doing favors for people who hates me makes much more sense," Lenore quipped sarcastically, "Not everyone is born with a silver spoon in their mouth like you, Potter, some of us have to work hard to get anything at all. Besides, you overestimate the power of my word. If you want a girlfriend, try being more confident and not a sweaty, stuttering, babbling wreck because it will give yourself some more credibility. And you can have that for free."

"Well that's useful," Albus complained and sighed as Lenore carried on again, he rubbed his chin while Scorpius stared after her, thinking about Maurice and recalling vaguely her interaction with the man on the platform, "And so much for Hufflepuffs being nice. Falling on the stone bannisters hurts like crazy."

"Lenore," Scorpius called after her and jogged after her, Albus scrambling to follow.

"What, Malfoy?" Lenore wondered irritably as she turned to face him again, "Want more potion?"

"No."

"Then bye, I have class," Lenore stated and went to leave again but Scorpius grabbed her arm to stop her.

"I want you to talk to Maurice," Scorpius told her seriously.

"Our relationship's none of your business, it never was," Lenore pointed out and pulled her arm free as she went to leave but he continued anyway.

"That's why I said for _you_ to talk to him, he's not talking to us because he's upset about losing you. If you were using him then at least have the guts to admit it and put the poor boy out of his misery, I'll even pay you for it," Scorpius offered and paused, she'd stopped to listen but didn't turn around so he couldn't gauge the reaction on her face, "And if you weren't using him then stop being so damn unforgiving and talk to him, break up with him, get back together with him but just don't leave him in limbo."

"Why'd you tell her that?" Albus wondered as Lenore carried on and went down the corridor for Defense Against the Dark Arts, "We wanted him to break up with her because she's a bitch, remember? He'll calm down when he's cooled off and realized we were right."

"We may not like her but Maurice does, maybe she's not that bad when you get to know her or maybe he just connects to cold-hearted people because he is... well, Maurice. He needs closure and he's not going to get it unless she talks to him," Scorpius explained, "If we're right then hopefully the incentive of money will make her admit it, proving us right so Maurice has reason to forgive us and break up with her."

The day wore on and he got no indication that Lenore had talked to Maurice yet, Albus was still more worried about his lack of a date anyway. Until Quidditch practice anyway, that took his mind off dating which was a good thing considering Abby was still a Reserve on the team. Scorpius hoped she would ask him, at the very least it would shut him up about it and he thought he'd rather Albus date someone he already knew then a complete stranger who could wind up like another Lenore.

Quidditch was still one thing that he find relaxing, nothing was as great as taking his mind off things as shooting through the air on his _Dart_ broom. The broom his grandfather had bought for him, the grandfather the Shadow Master had killed. He knew it would be outdated eventually and already new ones were coming out to surpass it, still though he hoped it would hold up for his time in Hogwarts because of that sentimental value. It was cooler and more windy then it had been earlier and despite Lily frequently asking him about Orous, he still preferred it then because Molly was there. Yet again, he was glad to be through with the drama of dating or at least the finding a date part and getting them to go out with you. His father's words echoed in his mind again from a few months, telling him she'd break up with him when she graduated. It was bad enough she wouldn't be in Hogwarts anymore, it terrified to think of losing her permanently.

He glanced over at her, confidently hovering in the air while overseeing the training exercise the Chasers, Beaters and Reserve Keeper were going through. She looked so beautiful with the breeze blowing through her hair, the touch of the dying orange sun lit it up and made it look even more like flames. Abruptly her body jerked and her eyes rolled back into her skull, she seemed to almost pass out but just about managed to keep a grip on her broom as she seemed to snap out of it. A look of panic crossed her face and her eyes darted around as if seeing something that wasn't there, he was reminded of the premonition she'd had a few months ago.

"NO!" Molly screamed just as suddenly.

The others came to a surprised halt, they hadn't noticed her episode but looked just in time as her eyes rolled back into her head again and this time she did lose her grip on the broom. She fell out of the sky, her limp body plummeting headfirst towards the ground. He shot towards her immediately as did a few others, diving desperately but he was closest and even he barely managed to reach her in time. He grabbed her and almost fell off the broom himself pulling her up onto it and holding her against him, her broom hit the ground a few feet away and he landed awkwardly. Molly was already stirring weakly, she had a tear leaking from her eye.

"Are you okay?" Scorpius asked her worriedly as she wiped the tear in confusion, his heart still pounding at the thought of her almost hitting the ground. Vern had broken his spine when he'd fallen.

"I feel like crap now but I think it was just another premonition," Molly told him and frowned as she rubbed her eyes, "Damn, I hoped that weird thing would be the last. What happened?"

"You yelled 'no' and dropped out of the sky," Latimer informed her as the others started landing by them, Molly cringed.

"Well that's embarrassing."

"Do you know what you saw?"

"No idea," Molly admitted with a shake of her head as she tried to stand, Scorpius supported her readily, "Alright, practice over for today. Good work everyone. Could someone pack up for me? I need to go to the Hospital Wing."

"I got it, Captain!" Rufus Rhett the Second Year Reserve Keeper volunteered brightly, "You can count on me."

"Well good."

"We'll help," Latimer offered, "Just get some rest."

"You know, if_ I_ was Captain then _I_ wouldn't pass out on my broom," James muttered to Carver as he headed off with Molly, Scorpius threw him a look of loathing at his complete lack of concern for his cousin's health and hoped Molly hadn't heard.

Scorpius helped her get to Marigold, even though it was a shorter episode then in Hogsmeade she seemed even weaker now. She was shaking much more and moving even slower, she leaned against him more heavily for support and it didn't decrease as they went on. He wished he knew what to say to comfort her, she seemed to be struggling to keep her eyes open anyway.

"It's okay, Molly," Scorpius offered stupidly, what did she see in him again?

"Thanks, Scor," Molly pointed out weakly as they reached the Hospital Wing and Marigold saw to her.

Marigold gave her something to help her rest like he had last time, unlike last time though he shooed Scorpius out after she was asleep as visiting hours were stricter on weekdays. Scorpius trudged away unhappily, annoyed with Marigold for not letting him stay with Molly and for not taking good care of Michael. He supposed at least she was alright, he'd caught her before she could injure herself and the episode was just part of her being a Seer. The premonition just had come at an extremely bad time and from the way she'd screamed 'no' and shed a tear, he doubted it was anything good she'd seen. The future wasn't bright like his parents thought, it was grim. He knew he had homework he could work on before dinner but he didn't really feel like schoolwork right now, nothing was due for tomorrow that he hadn't already done at least.

He headed for the Room That Doesn't Exist for solitude so was incredibly surprised when he opened the door to find it occupied, by a nine-year old boy with extremely dark auburn hair and his huge dog. Antonius had the final piece of the Scepter with him, the part that had been Ashylos' wand and had chosen Antonius as its next owner. And he was using it. A jet of red light that looked like a Disarming Charm struck some kind of dummy and sent the stick it held spiraling from its hand.

"Scorpius, what are you doing here?!" Antonius demanded in shock.

"I wanted to be alone. What are you doing here? Are you using magic?" Scorpius asked of him as he strode over to the smaller boy, the dog wagged its tail.

"Yes. I've been practicing for months," Antonius nodded meekly, "I figure with the war that... I mean, why wait two more years? I could need to use magic sooner so why not start early?"

"Because things can backfire and go wrong, that's why wizards learn in a school or with a tutor," Scorpius told him, feeling oddly very concerned, "Someone to keep an eye on them, to make sure they're learning it correctly and practicing it safely."

"I've seen enough of my Dad's classes to know what to do."

"It's not the same, Antonius! You're nine years old, you have got to be careful and it's not safe to do this alone," Scorpius snapped much harsher then he'd intended and Antonius looked down unhappily, almost disappointed.

"I _am_ careful," Antonius pointed out as he pocketed the wand so that it was hidden by his clothing, "Have fun being alone. Come on, girl, it's nearly dinner anyway."

"Look, I'm sorry," Scorpius apologized and pulled him back gently, Antonius reluctantly glanced at him with a completely miserable expression, "I'm just worried about you, you don't have to go. I can help you with your magic or we could talk or something, what's wrong?"

"What's right?" Antonius countered and shrugged off his grip, "I was nearly done anyway, I have to feed the dog before dinner. Bye."

* * *

**Part 2: **Dating and Dark Thoughts

* * *

"You feeling any better?" Scorpius asked of Molly the next day, visiting her in the Hospital Wing and was glad to see she was already up and about to leave.

"Yeah, I feel fine after some rest," Molly said with a sigh, "Mostly it's just embarrassing. What kind of Quidditch Captain falls off her broom? And then what if it happens again? What if it happens during a match? It's not healthy. And it might happen again, my maternal grandfather was a powerful Seer so it's in my blood. And then its worrying in itself, what did I even see? It wasn't anything good if I yelled 'no' like that. Last time I'm pretty sure I saw the kidnapping and this time… whatever I saw had me shed a tear and I don't cry without reason. What's even the point if I don't remember what I see?! What's the point if I can't do anything to stop it? Why did I have to be a Seer? I don't want to be a Seer, I never asked to be a Seer and… and I'm rambling, I'm sorry."

"It's okay, I like your rambling," Scorpius told her and squeezed her hand gently, "And you know, it's been months since your last one and you went your whole life without seeing one before that so it'll probably be months at least before it happens again. If it ever happens again, which we don't even know for sure. And as to what you saw… It's not like we don't already know there's a war going on, some not good things are expected."

"I guess, it's still not a good sign though."

Scorpius was forced to agree, even though it wasn't surprising the future wasn't bright with the Shadows hanging over it. The question just remained as to what specifically was going to happen, unfortunately they had no way of knowing that. He held her hand as they headed to breakfast, changing the subject to try take her mind of it and was incredibly annoyed at having to go sit in seats so far apart. It was his last Hogwarts year with Molly, he should be able to spend more time with her not stuck in separate seats at meals, he didn't even have class time with her because of their different years.

"Are you going to try asking him out today?" Scorpius questioned Abby at breakfast and she twirled her fork worriedly.

"I don't know, I'm nervous," Abby admitted, "I mean, why would he want to go out with me? Except out of desperation and I don't really want him to go out with me if he doesn't like me just because there's no one else. I'm pretty ugly looking since the Soul Eaters hacked off my hair and I'm not the loudest, I just kind of blend into the background."

"Well you can talk more one on one, you'd be alone with him on a date anyway."

"I guess. And what do I even say to him? It's scary the thought of asking someone out especially since I'm a girl, how do I even get him alone? What if I do it wrong and he laughs at me?"

"Abby, after seeing Albus try ask someone out... You pretty much couldn't do any worse," Scorpius pointed out truthfully, "He's not going to laugh after what happened with that girl yesterday."

That seemed to cheer her up a bit although getting him alone was easy, Abby and Albus didn't take Ancient Runes so had time alone. After breakfast was Care of Magical Creatures which was a calm lesson when they were just sketching a bowtruckle, having to interact with it was saved for tomorrow. Albus was still focused on only one thing however.

"Now I only have three days to get a date instead of four," Albus complained to them as they sat on the grass sketching the small creature, "And my chin still hurts from asking out the last one."

"Why? Did she punch you?" Abby asked with concern and Albus laughed.

"Don't be silly, I was trying to be cool leaning against the bannister but the staircase moved so I fell and whacked my chin on it."

"Very cool," Rose commented sarcastically and Albus through her a dark look.

"Talking to girls is _really_ hard."

"You're talking to me and Abby right now!"

"Yeah but you guys are family, I've known you two forever. I mean _real_ girls," Albus explained and Abby hung her head a little lower, "I just need to do it without looking like a complete idiot. Any advice?"

"Stop obsessing," Michael offered, "You need to relax."

"I can't relax until I've got a date, I just need some better advice from people more experienced. Hey Hagrid!"

"Wha' is it, Al?" Professor Hagrid wondered as he sidled over, "Can yeh see the bowtruckle alrigh'?"

"Yeah, that's going great, see," Albus said and turned the book around to show the half-giant the illegible squiggle he'd been drawing, "No, I just wanted to ask you for some advice."

"Try drawin' the shapes firs' then yeh do the details."

"Not about the drawing. About girls. Did you ever ask a girl out when you were in Hogwarts?"

"Me? Nah, I go' the boot 'fore I started worryin' 'bout that stuff. Does tha' help yeh, Al?"

"Err... Sure."

"Good then ge' back to drawin' tha' bowtruckle, I know it's no' as interestin' as interactin' with 'em bu' its useful fer studyin' fer yeh OWLs an' they are difficult to spot. Tomorrow yeh get to feed 'em as practice 'cause on Monday yeh're gonna use it as a distraction to take leaves from its tree," Professor Hagrid explained enthusiastically and clapped Albus on the back with enough force to nearly hit his chin on the ground, "So they won't attack yeh and all."

"Sounds fun," Albus lied through a false smile and the professor went back over to check on the bowtruckle, "Bright side, I can't wait to drop this class next year. Hagrid's great but I like living, even little things like bowtruckles look menacing."

"It doesn't matter if you're planning on dropping the class," Rose pointed out, "You still need to be paying attention if you want to get an OWL in the subject."

Rose proceeded to lecture them about the importance of OWLs for the duration of the lesson, Scorpius tried to decide whether Albus obsessing over dating or Rose obsessing over OWLs was more tedious. It didn't help Abby was being especially quiet since Albus' comment and Michael as well as he still seemed rather wiped from the full moon. So much so that he decided to go to the Common Room rather than the Library to study during the morning break, he could get some animagi practice in. He spotted Orous waiting in one of the stairwells and stopped in surprise.

"Hey Orous," Scorpius greeted his friend, "You must be really good at Divination to know that I was coming this way."

"Actually I wasn't waiting for you," Orous admitted and shifted nervously, "I'm waiting for Lily, I erm... decided... decided to go for it. Ask her out. See... See how it goes."

"That's great," Scorpius offered with a smile.

"Yeah. Maybe. I asked Hugo when was a good time that she was alone, he says she likes to rest in Gryffindor Tower during breaks so she goes there alone so he said it'd be a good time to ask her."

"Well best of-"

"Hi Orous!" Lily blurted out in a high-pitched squeak and Scorpius turned to see her there, she tried to discretely smooth her hair but just made it stick up more, "Oh and err... you know, you. Scorpius."

"I was just going," Scorpius told her and headed back down, pausing to give the nervous-looking Orous a thumbs up of encouragement behind Lily's back.

"So how's... how's... stuff?" Lily wondered and tried to lean back against the bannister but missed and fell back, Orous hastily went to help her up Scorpius slapped a hand to his face. Was it just Potters? "I'm okay! I'm okay!"

"Are you sure?" Orous asked her with concern as she straightened her glasses, her face going as red as her hair.

"Abs-Abs-Absolutely. Fine. Peachy. Bravo. Alright. Good. Great. Never better," Lily babbled awkwardly and she stared at the ground in humiliation, "Th-Th-Thanks f-for hel-helping me to-up."

"It's okay," Orous nodded and his crimson eyes darted to the ground as he scratched the back of his head nervously, "So anyway, I wanted to talk to you. Erm. Well really I just wanted to ask you something."

"Ask me something?" Lily repeated and raised her head, looking very hard like she was trying not to get her hopes up and Orous nodded.

"Would you like t-"

"Yes," Lily interrupted immediately and Orous looked back to her in surprise.

"You didn't even let me finish my question," Orous complained and Lily blushed again.

"Oh, sorry. Go on."

"Would you like to go to-"

"Yes," Lily blurted out again and blushed harder, "I'm sorry, I did it again. Go on."

"Would you like to go to Hogsmeade-"

"Yes! Yes! Yes! Absolutely yes!" Lily practically yelled as she clapped her hands enthusiastically while Orous pinched the bridge of his nose despite smiling as his cheeks went pink, "I'm sorry, I still didn't let you finish. Go on."

"Would-"

"Yes!" Lily interrupted again and Orous threw his arms in the air in exasperation.

"Would you let me finish my question?!" Orous complained at her while starting to laugh, Lily laughed as well while her face went as red as his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Lily apologized as they sobered and mimed zipping her mouth shut, "I'll be quiet now, finish your thought."

"Alright," Orous sighed and cleared his throat, "Lily, would you like to go to Hogsmeade with me?"

Lily seemed to try very hard not to smile but failed and ended up grinning toothily from ear to ear. Orous continued looking at her expectantly, waiting for her to give an answer.

"You're allowed to say yes now," Orous whispered.

"Yes, Orous, yes, I'd love to go with you!" Lily laughed and Orous smiled before she abruptly stopped, "I mean err... yeah, sure."

"Great," Orous offered before trying to not to smile, "I mean err... cool. See you then."

"See you," Lily said and smiled as she continued on up the staircase.

"Wow, I can't believe she said yes," Orous breathed as he joined Scorpius and they started down together.

"Did you really think she would say no?" Scorpius wondered curiously, "You knew she had a crush on you."

"Yeah but still, I mean... I'm _me_. I never thought a girl would ever look at me once, let alone twice," Orous pointed out, "I-"

"Mr Malfoy, Mr Knox," an unwelcome voice stated and they froze as Rutherford approached them, "I was hoping to run into you, Mr Malfoy."

"Why?" Scorpius questioned, exchanging a concerned look with Orous.

"I'm debating whether it's in the safest interests of the school to restrict or ban jewelry," Rutherford explained and reached out to take his hand, the one he wore Varanian's and the Thestrals rings on. He eyed them expressionlessly, "After all, if you punched someone with that ring then I bet it would hurt."

"Good thing I don't go around punching people then," Scorpius pointed out and pulled his hand away, Rutherford flicked his dark eyes back to him.

"Interesting choice of rings, is that a wedding ring?"

"It was my grandfather's, he died and I... I like having something of his close. It helps."

"And a Thestral? They're generally considered a bad omen."

"Well I like them," Scorpius insisted defensively and Rutherford glanced down again at his hand or rather his wrist.

"Interesting bracelet choice."

"It's a friendship bracelet. Why the sudden interest in my fashion sense?"

"Research. How often do you wear the rings and the bracelet?" Rutherford asked as he looked back up.

"All the time," Scorpius admitted truthfully and was incredibly unnerved when Rutherford smiled smugly, had he said something wrong.

"Alright, thank you for taking part in my little survey, Mr Malfoy, I'll presumably see you this Sunday for detention."

"What about me?" Orous wondered and Rutherford looked at him disinterestedly.

"Do you wear jewelry of any kind?"

"No."

"Well there you go, Mr Knox. Have a pleasant day," Rutherford offered as he stalked off.

"What the hell was that about?"

"No idea," Scorpius shrugged as he scowled after the attaché, there was no way he could've figured out about the ring, "If he does ban jewelry though, it wouldn't be good. I need the ring for Aaron."

* * *

_Tommy felt different. He was used to feeling cold, the Dementor guards sapped any hope of warmth but he wasn't used to feeling cold inside his mind. It was as if there was a weight composed of ice in his skull, he could feel it pressing down on his brain and feel the chill it brought seeping from it. It was an uncomfortable presence and he couldn't get rid of it, rubbing his head, tapping it, burying it in the burlap blanket to try warm it up. Nothing touched it, not even slightly._

_"I don't know," his mother admitted when he asked her about it and gently ran her fingers through his hair, "You're probably coming down with something. Sal, your brother is sleeping on the bed tonight."_

_But he didn't think it was an illness. It lasted every second of the day and even after weeks, it was still there. In fact, it showed no sign of sign of weak. He was sure it was from the ordeal with the Dementor, when the thing with its Shadow had happened. It scared him, sometimes he swore his shadow had eyes now. Pitch black holes that bored back into his brain._

_"Did you tell Mother about what happened with the Dementor and its Shadow?" Tommy asked of Sal in Parseltongue one of the days as they sat wedged in the corner together with their knees hugged to their chests for warmth, "I think it attached itself to me or something."_

_"Yes," Sal insisted also in Parseltongue, the hand-shaped bruise across her face was almost healed now, "She didn't believe me though, she said it's the craziest thing she ever heard and I was an idiot for not paying attention to what really happened. I wouldn't bring it up."_

_"I'm scared, Sal, what if it turns me into a Dementor or something?"_

_"I don't think people turn into Dementors and people aren't hurt by shadows anyway."_

_"Not by people shadows anyway," Tommy pointed out and gazed into his shadow, seeing the black vortexes staring back where his eyes would be. He shivered in fear and wrapped his arms even more protectively around himself, "I feel like I'm going crazy."_

_"You're not crazy, Tommy, I see the dark holes for eyes too."_

_Knowing that made him feel slightly better but only slightly, there was still the Shadow. And it only got worse. Becoming aware of the Shadow's eyes made it easier to spot them because you knew what you were looking for, he was scared it would hurt him. He'd sit for hours frozen in fear, gazing into the eyes and he started having the strangest thoughts. Or rather feelings or urges or something, he wasn't sure how to describe it. Suffering. He wanted to see suffering, see people in pain, see them hurt. He wanted to cause their suffering even, cause their pain, make them hurt. He wanted them to die, more than die, he wanted to shred their souls until there was nothing left. He craved it desperately, even if it meant destroying his twin and mother._

_And then he'd inevitably look away and slowly remember who he was or be snapped back to reality by his mother or sister speaking to him, those thoughts would be gone then. Instead he'd be left feeling even more afraid that he'd thought such horrible things, he didn't want his family to be hurt or anyone else for that matter. Where did destroying souls even come from? His mother had mentioned the Death Eaters killing the inferior scum with impure blood but not destroying souls, she hadn't said anything about that._

_"I think it's the Dementor's Shadow that got attached to you telling you to think those things," Sal told him in Parseltongue after he confided it to her, "Because I get the same feelings if I stare into those eyes."_

_At night he started getting dreams, always the same ones. He was watching a Dementor giving someone the kiss and sucking out the victim's soul, poor bedraggled crying for mercy before their soul was taken from them. They all seemed to have some kind of aura, varying shades of white, gray or black and an orb of light inside their heart shining through. Tommy thought that was the soul because it was wrenched from them during the kiss and then he - or whatever thing's eyes he was looking through - would destroy it, he had claws he couldn't see on a level he couldn't describe and they'd rip the soul to shreds. And it felt... good. It terrified him that he might be turning into a Dementor, becoming a monster, he'd wake up in a cold sweat crying his eyes out and his mother would comfort him then get angry at Sal._

_"HE DIDN'T HAVE THESE NIGHTMARES BEFORE YOU ALMOST GOT THE BOTH OF YOU KISSED BY THE DEMENTORS!" his mother screamed at her, "ITS ALL YOUR FAULT, SALAZIA!"_

* * *

"I don't think it's anything to worry about," Albus brushed it off after he told him and Michael in the next lesson about his encounter with Rutherford, he decided it was best not mention Orous dating Lily yet.

"How is it not anything to worry about?" Scorpius wondered as he watched his Thestral Patronus pacing in front of him, he was practicing keeping it around for longer as he'd still had no luck with making it talk like Michael could. Albus was only trying to do anything when Professor Ashain was near and even then he'd only do an incorporeal shield, he

"Well I don't see how he could've figured out about the ring so he was just being creepy and weird because he's creepy and weird. He was probably just trying to screw with you so by letting him get into your head worrying about, you're doing exactly what he wants."

"What do you think, Michael?"

"I don't know," Michael admitted, "But it probably wasn't the truth or not the whole truth anyway, it could be worse though. At least he didn't drag you off to read your mind right then."

"I'm more worried about getting a date, hey Professor," Albus pointed out before calling over Professor Ashain, "Can you help me with something?"

"Are you having trouble with your Patronus?" Professor Ashain asked as he came over to them.

"Getting your wand out might help with that," Cassia commented from the nearby table she sat at with Antonius – who was being especially focused on his work since their encounter in the Room That Doesn't Exist - at the front of the class, the dog at their feet. Albus blushed and hastily drew his wand.

"Thank you, Cassia. Now get back to your own work."

"Can't I practice a Patronus, Daddy?"

"No. Do your math."

"But math isn't importanter then a Patronus. When a Specters or Dementors or Lethifolds attack, you don't math them away, you Patronus them away."

"You can learn to Patronus when you're older, you can learn math so do so," Professor Ashain told her firmly and Cassia sighed as she went back to her work.

"For the record, I had my wand out before. I just put it back accidentally after my last attempt," Albus pointed out defensively, Professor Ashain didn't look convinced but let it slide.

"So what is the problem?"

"I can't focus on my Patronus casting because I'm stressed about getting a date for the Hogsmeade trip this weekend so I wondered if you could give me some advice."

"No," Professor Ashain said without hesitation, "I can't help you there."

"Please? I really need to focus. Did you ever ask out a girl in Hogwarts?"

"Once."

"What happened?" Albus prompted, sounding somewhere between desperate and hopeful.

"Well there was this girl in my year, Kitty Vassar, who I had a crush on since Second Year and I finally worked up the courage to ask her out in Fifth. I rehearsed in front of a mirror for weeks before approaching her at breakfast and… she laughed at me, then her friends started laughing at me and everyone was laughing at me and I ran away crying," Professor Ashain recounted somewhat unhappily, "So my advice is… to stop thinking about girls and think about the Patronus you're supposed to be casting, it doesn't matter if it's a donkey."

"Thanks," Albus muttered as Professor Ashain was called over by someone else, "I'm starting to think this asking adults for advice thing isn't going to help me. Although now I don't feel so bad about my utter failure asking out Gaia."

Scorpius shook his head at his friend and continued worrying about Rutherford but there were no announcements for a jewelry policy or anything at lunch or dinner, he wondered if it was anything to do with Molly's premonition. Maybe it wasn't to do about the Shadows at all but Rutherford, they had no way of knowing. Scorpius really hated not knowing things. Ignorance wasn't bliss, it was just frustrating. You couldn't do anything if you didn't know anything. Rose actually believed Rutherford and Albus was still worrying about dating, which he took to mean Abby hadn't asked him yet.

"I chickened out," Abby told him regretfully at dinner, "You heard him earlier, he doesn't even consider me a 'real girl' so why would he go out with me?"

"He will think of you as a real girl when you ask him out," Scorpius insisted.

"You think?"

"Yes!"

"Okay, I'll-I'll ask him tomorrow."

There were still no announcements about a jewelry policy or anything from Rutherford the next day either, he couldn't help but have an ominous feeling though. Or maybe his friends were right and he was overthinking it, he'd tell Varanian and see what he said of the whole Rutherford situation in general. They had Quidditch practice again too, thankfully Molly didn't have another premonition episode although it was raining ferociously. He stayed to help out Molly packing things up as usual and they headed back to the castle holding hands and talking together, passing by the Slytherin team coming to practice while they went back to Gryffindor Tower to change.

"You'll never guess who has a date," Michael commented when he returned to his dormitory, finding both Michael and Albus there. Albus was lying on his own bed with Michael sitting on the end.

"Can I change before I guess?" Scorpius wondered as he was still soaked.

"No," Albus told him as he sat up, looking stunned, "A girl asked me out!"

"Really?" Scorpius said, not surprised. Abby was a Reserve now, she'd probably asked him out on the walk back.

"Yes and its terrible!" Albus exclaimed and buried his face in his hands, much to Scorpius' bewilderment, "I have a date for Hogsmeade!"

"How is it terrible? What's wrong? I thought you wanted a date and it's not like she's a horrible person."

"She's a Slytherin!"

"A Slytherin? Wait, what? Who are we talking about?" Scorpius asked to his increasing confusion and Albus lowered his hands from his face.

"Grozda Krum! The Slytherin Captain! Who did you think I was talking about?"

"Err... Not sure. She asked you out?"

"Yes," Albus sighed as he stood and started pacing, "We ran into her heading to the pitch for practice and we kind of did that back and forth with the Quaffle again and she said we really had to stop meeting each other like this and then she asked if I'd like to go to Hogsmeade with her this weekend! Her, a _Slytherin_, asked _me_."

"And you said... no?" Scorpius guessed somewhat hopefully.

"Of course not! I'm so desperate that I said yes, didn't I?" Albus told him and threw himself back down onto the bed, "And now I have a date with an evil Slytherin psychopath who's probably only dating me to sabotage the game. What am I going to do?!"

"Well you could tell her you've changed your mind and that you don't want to go out with her."

"I can't do that because then I'd have no date!" Albus moaned into his pillow.

"You'd rather date someone you don't like just because they asked you first then risk having no date for someone you like?" Scorpius wondered, trying to wrap his head around it.

"Yes."

"You're being completely unfair," Michael pointed out, "Grozda and her Dad are both decent people, you should give her a chance. You never know, you might actually have a good time with her. And you know, English isn't her first language so she could even like your poetry."

"I also think it's not fair," Scorpius spoke up although for a different reason, if he didn't go with Grozda then Abby still had a shot, "This poor girl thinks you like her when you think she's Dementor's spawn or something, if you're not really interested in her then it's cruel to string her along. You should just be honest with her and tell her that you don't want to go out with her because she's a Slytherin."

"That makes me sound like a jackass," Albus complained.

"Well it is your Patronus," Scorpius offered and Albus looked up to throw him a dark look before sighing.

"No, I'm going to suck it up and go on the date. That way I can say I went on a date and it's a practice run for when I date someone who's... you know, not evil."

"Being a Slytherin doesn't make her evil," Michael insisted, "Lots of Slytherins are nice, Olivia, Lorcan, Vipera, Marigold-"

"Hehe, _Marigold_."

Albus seemed to have made up his mind though, even if Scorpius was still somewhat puzzled by his decisions. Abby didn't show up for dinner, Rose said she wasn't feeling well but he figured she was upset about Albus going out with Grozda. She confirmed this at breakfast the next day but said she didn't want to talk about it, she didn't seem like talking much about anything or eating. The others chalked it up to her still feeling unwell, Scorpius really didn't know what to do to fix the problem. Not short of telling Albus about Abby liking him and he didn't think it was his place to say, he didn't even know if it was the right thing to do at all. It was Friday though, tomorrow was the day of the Hogsmeade trip which everyone was oddly quiet about as they worked on their homework in the Library after classes. They'd lost most if not all of Saturday from the Hogsmeade visit after all so they were cramming.

"Hey guys," Maurice greeted them and Scorpius looked up in surprise along with the others.

"What do you want?" Rose demanded of him irritably, apparently still sore from their fight.

"I have decided that I forgive you all for your outburst against Lenore, you're entitled to your own opinions on my girlfriend. But I do ask now that I'm aware of them, you shut up about it and don't badmouth Lenore then we can be friends again."

"Okay good," Scorpius said in relief, he still wasn't sure about Lenore but at least Maurice got some closure and was talking to them again.

"You don't think you owe some of us an apology for the things you said?" Rose inquired icily.

"No. Why would I owe anyone an apology?" Maurice wondered obliviously, "If anyone is owed an apology then its Lenore from you people. Except Scor, I should thank you because she said you're the one who talked to her because she talked to me and now we're good again."

"Scorpius!" Rose snapped at him angrily.

"Yes, Scorpius," Maurice confirmed and grinned, "And she agreed to go on a date with me to Hogsmeade tomorrow, I can't wait."

"Can't you see she's still using you?! This time to milk you for fine food and expensive jewelry and whatever else the bitch wants."

"Lenore doesn't wear jewelry actually," Maurice scoffed, his expression souring, "She thinks it's an atrocity that rich snobs flaunt their wealth and walk around with necklaces worth more than rent or bracelets that could feed a family for several months."

"So she's just insane, is that it?!" Rose complained.

"Look, Rose, I'm this close to unforgiving for insulting Lenore," Maurice told her seriously, "And I'll see you guys later then, I have to go get Cassia for Occlumency."

"Bye," they offered as Maurice headed off, Scorpius felt a kick collide with his shins as soon as he had left.

"Ow! What was that for?!" Scorpius demanded of Rose, who was glaring at him and who he assumed was the kicker.

"Why did you tell that bitch to get back together with him?!" Rose snapped at him.

"He didn't," Albus offered defensively, "He told her to talk to Maurice because he needed closure, offered to pay her if she'd admit she was using him."

"Oh. Well that backfired! Now she's clearly pretending she wasn't, playing the innocent victim and looking better than ever while getting his help back. I hate her."

"At least Maurice knows what we think of her now, she'll show her true colors eventually and he'll know we were right then we'll look better than ever and she'll look like the manipulative bitch she is."

"Or maybe she never was using him and we jumped to conclusions," Michael pointed out.

"Yeah right. Stop thinking the best of people."

"Stop thinking the worst of people."

* * *

_"I know it sounds crazy but I think the dreams is it trying to talk to me," Tommy confided in his twin in Parseltongue so their mother couldn't understand, if she didn't believe them about the Dementor's Shadow in the first place then she wouldn't believe them about all this, "If you look into its eyes then it gives us those thoughts because I think it likes pain, with the dreams I think it's showing that its likes to see people in pain or it eats pain or something. I think it wants me to be hurt people so that it can get more pain now that it's not attached to a Dementor anymore."_

_"Dementors suck the souls out of people when they kiss them," Sal mused thoughtfully also in Parseltongue, "Maybe they do it so that their Shadows can destroy the souls and eat the pain, souls are special and stuff so maybe it gives them the most food or something."_

_"That's insane, Sal, all Dementors can't be like that or people would've noticed. Mother thought it was crazy."_

_"Well how many people hang out with Dementors and accidentally magic their Shadows from them? Grown-ups don't do accidental magic but only kids do and they don't send kids to Azkaban so the grown-ups wouldn't know. Only we know."_

_"I think this is the only one still but either way it doesn't matter. I can't keep living in fear like this and I'm not going to feed it pain."_

_"You could slap Mother and see how she likes it for a change," Sal commented with a glance in their mother's direction as she slept, he scowled at her._

_"I'm not doing that. I don't want to hurt anyone, I just want it to go away!" Tommy snapped determinedly._

_They both jumped in surprise as the Shadow moved, oddly though he still had a shadow beside Sal's but it didn't have the evil eyes. The one moving around the cell had the black holes for eyes though and for the first time weeks, he felt the weight lifting in his mind and the piercing cold lifting. It wasn't gone but it diminished, it was more bearable when it was further away from him._

_"Now go away forever," Tommy told it and waved his hands at it._

_"Or just die, dying is good," Sal added but the thing remained where it was._

_"Maybe you have to yell at it? Go away!"_

_The Shadow didn't move and Tommy sighed regretfully, so much for that plan working. He dug his hands into his head as he felt any shreds of joy sucked from the air along with any fragment of warmth, Dementors were nearing with a prisoner in tow. Presumably taking him to his shower, all prisoners got intermittent showers._

_"Maybe you just have to mean it?" Sal suggested thoughtfully._

_"What, you mean yell louder?"_

_"No, I don't think it can talk. Just wish it to go away, mean it and want it. Get worked up about it and wish it to be gone."_

_He wished it was gone. He wished it was gone. He wished it was gone. He squeezed his eyes shut and focused on only the desire for it be gone, thinking of how much he was scared of it and how desperate he was for it be gone. He hated it, he hated it so much. He just wanted it to go away! And then he heard screaming._

_"Wish it back, wish it back," Sal hissed at him he snapped his eyes open in terror._

_The prisoner being taken to the showers was now screaming, shrieking in agony as his body convulsed. Twisting and contorting as he cried to the darkness, the Dementors just stepped back and let him drop. What the hell was happening?! He wished it was back to him and he saw the Shadow shoot away from the man's body, diving back into his own shadow. The man went limp and his head lolled to face them, his mouth frozen in his final scream of agony and his eyes devoid of life. Tommy could feel every pounding beat of his heart as time seemed to stop, that man was dead because of him._

* * *

**Part 3: **A Trip Down Memory Lane

* * *

Scorpius was awoken at the crack of dawn by Albus, it was so early that not even Michael was awake yet. Not until Albus also woke him anyway. And only because he wanted their help deciding what to wear for his date with Grozda, he wanted to look good because it was a date but not too good because he wasn't very invested. As a result, Scorpius was both tired and annoyed with Albus by the time they it was finally late enough to go down for breakfast although Albus instead opted to stay and work on combing his hair into submission. Abby unfortunately didn't show up until near the end of breakfast so he mostly ate alone.

Not long after that, they were filing out to get their permission slips checked to leave for Hogsmeade and he saw Albus had succeeded in flattening his hair by drowning it gel. It went from oldest to youngest so Molly and Latimer were actually the first to get theirs done for once, as could Lenore who seemed to be dressed more conservatively. He supposed the cold weather was getting to her, it was only a few days until November and there was a distinct chill in the air. The Sixth Years went next, which included Albus' date, she was wearing a furry cloak that covered her body entirely but had brightened up her sallow face with some make-up, had done her dark hair up and was wearing earrings. The Fifth Years were after that so Scorpius, Michael, Abby, Albus and Rose got to go next, Professor Longbottom was the one checking the forms and he gave Abby a very concerned look but said nothing.

"Wish me luck," Albus breathed to them uncertainly as he walked over to the waiting Grozda, already sweating profusely.

After that was the Fourth Years, Corin looking rather glum as he alone didn't have a date from the friends in his year. Maurice went off with Lenore while Vern walked away hand in hand with his girlfriend, Olivia. Finally it was the Third Years, Hugo looked in a good mood and he was talking with Lorcan and August who were his friends, Lily too. Lorcan was as on edge as ever, wand gripped in hand and amber eyes darting around for any sign of trouble. His twin, Lysander, was with his own Gryffindor friends as they didn't exactly get along. Professor Longbottom gave his youngest child, August, another worried look but said nothing.

"Ready to go?" Lily asked with a smile as she skipped over happily, she had a pinkish lily in her hair and wore a dress to match beneath a fluffy white jacket while Orous had gone with a crisp buttoned shirt beneath his brown jacket, he even seemed to have combed his almost shoulder-length hair.

"Yeah," Orous confirmed, looking somewhat nervous as he gave them a wave of acknowledgement, "See you guys later."

The rest of them headed to Hogwarts somewhat together loosely, Scorpius and Molly walked holding hands. Whoever was in range of Rose was unfortunate enough to have to listen to her ranting about how much she hated Lenore, Corin and Abby were trying to stand as far apart as possibly, Michael walked with his head hung low as he wasn't keen on the town he'd been turned in. Hogsmeade was really bustling and there was houses half-finished being erected on the outskirts, he guessed with the war that people wanted to be close by each other or the increased amount of things since the rebuild was attracting people or something.

He kissed Molly goodbye when they reached the town, going off with Michael to the forest so they'd have privacy to Portkey back to Varanian's hideout. They reappeared in the familiar field and found themselves suddenly in pouring rain, Scorpius hoped rain wasn't bad for his leather jacket as they hurried to get to the hideout to be out of the shower. He was relieved when they reached the door and could get inside, Roman was standing in the corridor with a mug in one hand and seemed to be heading back into his room.

"Scorpius and... erm..." Roman said and trailed off, drawing a blank.

"Michael," Michael supplied and Roman scowled, tilting his head to one side to stare at Michael's face. Scorpius could almost see the cogs of memory trying to turn.

"Did you used to be shorter? I remember vaguely someone who looked like you but they were shorter."

"Yes, I used to be shorter."

"You should've stayed shorter, I probably could've remembered you better," Roman complained as he supposed his hot cup of what smell like cocoa, "You're here to see Varanian, I suppose?"

"Yeah and I wanted to see Annie, she's my aunt," Michael pointed out.

"I don't think she's here yet but if she is then she'll be with Varanian anyway, she always is," Roman informed them before leading them down into Varanian's basement.

Scorpius saw no sign of Annie but Varanian was there, pacing in front of his board. He was still using his cane unfortunately but he was walking much easier and more steadily, Scorpius took this to be a good sign that he was healing. Varanian stopped when he saw them though and sat on the spindly chair, gesturing for them to sit on the bed while Roman stayed at the bottom of the stairs sipping his cocoa.

"So tell me about this Rutherford," Varanian told them immediately, Scorpius actually liked that he cut to the chase especially since time was somewhat limited. He dove into explanation of Rutherford's changes in policy and his use of Legilimency, the use of Polyjuice, them learning Occlumency and finally the strange encounter when Rutherford asked about the rings and bracelet, "Well you're right, it's incredibly unlikely that he would've figured out that you're using the ring to talk to me but he could've figured out something else to do with the rings or bracelet."

"Like what?" Scorpius wondered in puzzlement, "They don't serve any purpose, I just wear them all the time because I like them."

"Do you give them to Maurice to wear when he Polyjuices into you?"

"No," Scorpius realized worriedly, had he screwed up?

"Maybe he figured out you don't have them in detention but do when he sees you around."

"Well I could just say that I don't wear them in detention."

"Doesn't matter, he's probably still onto you," Varanian shook his head, "You suddenly mastering Occlumency is suspicious enough and then Maurice... Every mind is different and after enough attempts he's probably going to get some sense of Maurice's mind being different to yours, even if he can't see any thoughts or memories because of the Occlumency. He's probably just looking for a way to confirm his suspicions."

"Tomorrow is your last detention," Michael pointed out, "We only need to get through one day, then you just need to not get any more detentions and it should be fine... Right?"

"If he's really that determined then I doubt it, he'll probably find some reason to punish you or get you alone or something. The only good thing is that he's not going to suspect Maurice of being the Polyjuicer, it's a tricky skill so he's going to assume it's an adult or older student first. Definitely not a fourteen year old."

"We need to get rid of him, have him fired or arrested or something for using Legilimency," Scorpius said seriously, "I don't know how to do that though."

"Neither do I," Varanian admitted, "It's not an easy thing to prove, it'll always come down to your word against his and you can't also use Maurice was a witness without admitting to illegal Polyjuice potion use. You can't take your memories to show them because the Ministry thinks I've already screwed with your mind so anything you give could be tampered with so inadmissible in court. The best proof would be to have someone test his wand just after he's used a Legilimency spell, problem is no one would have any reason to do that so he could just refuse and if you took it from him first them he could say someone else used the spell after his wand was stolen from him. For now just keep doing what you're doing and I can give you some help with Occlumency, we'll think of something for the long run."

"Okay. Have you any news then?"

"Actually, yes, we have news about that woman who approached you in Egypt."

"See now, aren't you glad you stopped calling me 'that woman?' Because now you're calling her 'that woman' and it would just get confusing," a female voice commented and they glanced up to see Annie coming down the stairs, Michael grinned and stood before she had a black eye oddly.

"What the hell happened to your eye?!" Varanian demanded, jumping up immediately with his cane.

"I walked into a door," Annie snipped sarcastically and batted away Varanian's attempt to inspect the bruise, "How the hell do you people get black eyes?! I got into it with my brother, not a big deal."

"Jack hit you?!" Michael wondered in shock.

"He can't hit you, you're a girl," Varanian complained with a scowl.

"What are you from the fifties?" Annie questioned with an incredulous expression, "I hate to break it to you but it's the twenty-first century now where boys hit girls, girls hit boys and girls hit girls! The horror. Unless it's just how it is in wizard land, in which case it's still the twenty-first century not the fifties so my statement stands."

"I wasn't alive in the fifties."

"Good so get over it," Annie told him before turning to Michael, "Come on, we'll talk upstairs. I need a drink anyway."

"No, you don't," Varanian grumbled as Michael headed upstairs with her, he stared after them frowning worriedly.

"Varanian, focus, you were telling us about the woman," Roman prompted and waved his hand in front of Varanian's face.

"I know," Varanian insisted and batted Roman's hand away irritably before sitting back down, he took a deep breath before continuing, "So anyway, Scorpius, she showed up again. This time trying to talk to Harry Potter, she went to his in-laws house for his godson's birthday last week. Shadows showed up again and attacked her just like when she tried to talk to you so it wasn't a long conversation, she did get away though. Wyatt didn't manage to overhear much, Potter's keeping it pretty quiet for fear of spies but he heard she claimed to have escaped Athens so it's probably the same woman. And she gave her name this time: Leila Akram."

"Leila," Roman breathed and dropped his mug.

"Akram?" Scorpius repeated in unison, he was sure he'd heard that name before being distracted by Roman's mug shattering onto the ground, "Roman?"

"S-Sorry," Roman muttered as he scooped up the shards and darted up the stairs, "I'm not feeling good. Bye."

"What's up with him?"

"No idea," Varanian admitted as they both scowled after Roman, "You never know what's normal and what's not with this damaged soul stuff."

"Right. So Leila Akram was her name?" Scorpius wondered as he tried to put Roman's odd behavior from his mind, it wasn't like Roman hadn't been odd before.

"Yeah. Or at least the alias she gave to Potter, he can't ask the Greek Ministry of Magic for information on her though. Their records were all in Athens, which is now the heart the Shadows' controlled districts. They now have nine and all the islands, did you hear what they started doing to them?"

"No."

"The island districts surrendered after the Shadow Master started destroying the smaller ones, wiping them off the map like he did to Azkaban," Varanian told him seriously and Scorpius felt a sick chill running through him, this was why they needed to be trying to stop the war, "The four districts bordering other countries are the only ones left now, refugees are flooding out in desperation to escape the inevitable. Well at least the Macedonian and Bulgarian borders for the moment, Turkey already closed the muggle and magical borders, Albania the muggle one and the magical one was closed just yesterday because Potter's pissed about it. If they won't help, he wants them to at least let people escape."

"Why don't they let them escape?!" Scorpius demanded in shock and anger.

"They don't really want a bunch of penniless foreigners pouring into their country, it's not great for their economy and they're afraid of those coming through being aware of magic too."

"How can they care about that with the Shadows at their doorstep?!"

"They either think the Shadow Master will be content with Greece or that they won't even succeed at taking Greece, like Voldemort was stopped before he could cause any real upheaval in the muggle world despite what he did the magical one."

"That's stupid."

"That's politicians for you," Varanian shrugged it off, "And it's going to bite them in the ass, the population of Greece is in the millions plus the boom from the summer tourism when it was attacked. The Shadow Master will have all of them and all of the country's resources on top of their own, they broke their werewolf army back out so they presumably have someone to lead it again now. Some non-European countries also think that the war is not going to affect them, although others are worried like Egypt has increased defenses on the sea front due to Greece being in that direction."

"Egypt?" Scorpius repeated and his mind went back to his vacation there, he was sure that was where he had heard the name Akram... "That's where I heard the name before!"

"What?"

"Akram. They're a prominent pureblooded family in Egypt, the tour guide mentioned them owning the land the magical city was on or something," Scorpius told him excitedly, "She may live in Greece now but she's probably from Egypt originally, maybe it's why she went back there after she escaped."

"If she is from Egypt then that's great, the Egyptian Ministry should have some information on her and they're not conquered yet."

"How are you going to get to the Egyptian Ministry though?"

"I can't," Varanian admitted with a thoughtful scowl, "Even if I could successfully get there and break into the Ministry, it'd be in Arabic and I don't read Arabic. But... maybe I don't need to, are you still friends with Potter's son? Albert?"

"Albus, yes."

"You need to get him to write a letter to his father mentioning the Akrams and Potter will contact the Ministry to get the information for himself then we can break in to Potter's office and get the information for ourselves."

"Won't he think that's kind of suspicious that Albus would know about her?" Scorpius wondered worriedly.

"He doesn't have to mention her," Varanian insisted with a sly smile, "He could just say 'my friend Scorpius was telling me about his trip to Egypt, blah, blah, blah, including about this cool ancient magical city that's property of the Akrams' or something to that effect. If he has half a brain, he'll recognize the name and ask Egypt about a Leila Akram. If she is related to them then he'll get the information on her that they have and if not then oh well."

"That's brilliant," Scorpius grinned.

"Hopefully. So Occlumency," Varanian changed the subject and whipped out his wand, "I want to see how you're doing first, alright? I try to read to read your mind and you try to block me."

"Okay. Do you know Occlumency too then?"

"Yes but it's also not my best subject. My Grandfather was trying to teach both Legilimency and Occlumency to me because they're useful skills for Aurors to have, he died when I was fourteen though so I never got to get more than a basic grasp of either."

"Why didn't you get someone else to teach you when you were older?"

"I didn't want random strangers poking around in my head," Varanian pointed out as if it were obvious as he raised his wand to him, "_Legilimens!_"

Scorpius focused, using Leebin's technique to clear his mind. It worked for what felt like a few seconds - but in reality was the better part of a minute, at least when he practiced with Maurice or Molly - before he felt Varanian's presence, it was something like being aware of someone looking over your shoulder except they were inside your head which was rather uncomfortable. He tried to ignore it but it was impossible, he didn't like the feeling and like being stabbed in the brain, he felt Varanian latching onto his feeling of dislike and diving into his mind. And then he was looking at James loathingly as he made that crack about Molly falling off her broom, after she'd had her premonition... Then he was lurched back to reality, sitting facing Varanian in the basement again.

"A couple of minutes, not too bad for a teenage beginner," Varanian commented as Scorpius rubbed his head.

"It's hard to keep your mind clear when you notice someone's there," Scorpius told him truthfully.

"I know but being able to notice them is a good sign, when you notice them you can push them out. With knowledge and practice."

"How do I do that?"

"Err... let's forget that for now, it'll probably take you months at the very least to get that. Instead I want you to try what my Grandfather called the cycling technique, I... I don't know if that's what it's called or if it's even something that he didn't make up but anyway," Varanian said and Scorpius scowled, he'd rather stick to what he knew, "Look, we're on limited time and you can probably succeed at this, it's what he taught me before moving on to proper Occlumency. When we're done, I'll get back to that. So this technique is useful because it's for when they're actually inside your mind, you may not be able to stop them from getting in but it's about controlling what they see. You think of a memory that you know will make you think of another one that will make you think of the first one, you trap them in seeing just those two memories. You can't focus on one, eventually they'll make you jump to another one but with two when they try to jump to another one, it keeps them seeing what you what them to see. Do you understand?"

"I think so, yes."

"What he told me is to think of some nursery rhyme you knew well when you were a child, something you can remember singing on two separate occasions so that one will remind you of the other. You just keep singing that song mentally and you can get your mind to keep cycling through those two memories or more than two but less is better. It sounds stupid but it works. Do you have something like that?"

"Err... Yeah," Scorpius admitted and blushed furiously, "I erm... sometimes... sang this lullaby to my... my baby brother that I erm... heard as a... young..."

"Perfect, okay so close your eyes and start thinking of that. Then I'll go for it, don't let me saying the spell distract you and just don't stop thinking of that song."

Feeling rather foolish, Scorpius closed his eyes and started singing the nursery rhyme inside his mind.

_Hush little baby don't say a word_

_Mother's going to conjure you a phoenix bird_

"_Legilimens_!" he heard someone say distantly and he now in his mother's arms as she sang gently to him.

_And if that phoenix bird won't sing_

_Mother's going to conjure you a diamond ring_

The scene changed and he was holding his baby brother, singing the words he'd once heard.

_And if that diamond ring turns to brass_

_Brother's going to conjure you a looking glass_

_And if that looking glass gets broke_

_Brother's going to conjure you Grumble the goat_

The scene changed and he was back in his mother's arms.

_And if that old Grumble goat won't pull_

_Mother's going to conjure you a cart and bull_

_And if that cart and bull turns over_

_Mother's going to conjure you a four-leafed clover_

The scene changed and he was back holding the half-asleep Sol.

_And if that four-leafed clover gets blown away_

_Brother's going to conjure you a beautiful bay_

_And even if that beautiful bay gets run-down_

_You'll still be the best baby in town_

The scene changed again and this time he was seeing Hogsmeade for the first time... He was thrown back into reality and found himself back in the basement with Varanian.

"When you finish the song, you start thinking it again not run out of ideas," Varanian complained at him, "Again."

And they did, over and over until Scorpius was almost sick of the song. Once you got used to starting again as soon as the song ended instead of getting pulled into something else then it was actually not too difficult, or maybe it was because he'd also been practicing Occlumency for weeks. After a while, he would start to notice Varanian's presence like he would when his mind was blank except it didn't cause him to crash and burn if he had to think of nothing, words were easier to think of then nothing. Scorpius was feeling much more confident about Rutherford though, if he did face him then he was quite confident in that.

"It's normal to start to notice the presence," Varanian offered when he asked, "The harder the Legilimens pushes to get into your mind, it becomes more obvious which isn't necessarily good for them."

"Why?" Scorpius wondered curiously, "It just seems to distract me."

"Because if you notice their presence then you can locate the intrusion and either throw them out or turn on them, if you can do either of those things."

"Turn it back on them?"

"Using Legilimency on someone links your minds because they're using their mind to get into yours and it's a two way street, the person whose mind is being invaded can turn it back on them and look into invader's mind. My Grandfather loved doing that because if they're already using Legilimency on you, they can't defend their own minds and are always taken off guard. Even a skilled Occlumens wouldn't be able to stop it until after you'd already gotten in then you can."

"Cool. Can I try do that now then?" Scorpius asked eagerly, liking the thought of giving Rutherford a taste of his own medicine but Varanian scowled uncomfortably.

"I'd rather you not, I don't want to remember things."

"Try throw you out of my mind, I meant," Scorpius offered, that was better than not.

"If you're up to it, do the trap again and when you notice me then try to get rid of me," Varanian told him and Scorpius nodded in readiness, he thought Varanian was a better Legilimens then Molly or Maurice as his head was only at a dull ache, "I won't try to resist to make it easier, you need to figure out where I am then push me out. It sounds simple enough but its hard more practically when you realize all this is happening inside your head not physically."

Scorpius closed his eyes and focused on the rhyme as they had been doing, he barely even registered Varanian give the incantation before being plunged into his memory of his mother singing to him. Then singing to his brother. Then back to his mother. Cycling through them until he became aware of Varanian's presence, like someone looking over his shoulder. He tried to ready himself to push Varanian out but wait, was he sure that Varanian was behind him? No. He let the rhyme play and noticed that Varanian was closer, it was more like he was looking through his eyes. How was he supposed to get rid of someone beneath his skin? It wasn't physical, he didn't have skin or eyes. He wasn't a person, he was inside his own mind. He envisioned himself spinning and lunging at Varanian, trying to push him out. He seemed to push too hard or something, he felt like he was falling through the presence instead and tried to grab hold of something despite there being nothing...

He felt a violent stinging slap strike him across the face and he was thrown off the chair to the ground, only he wasn't in the basement but somewhere with light filtering through windows and he fell onto floorboards not concrete. His head felt like it was going to explode, the searing pain was so bad and his feet throbbed like after possessed-Varanian had used the Acutus Curse on the soles of his feet back in First Year.

"Useless!" an unfamiliar gruff voice snapped and he felt a kick strike his ribs painfully but the words hurt more, why couldn't he do anything right? "You're fucking useless! Piece of shit, you can't do anything right! You'll never amount to anything if you keep this up! Stupid, you're so stupid!"

Someone grabbed his shoulder, hauling him up and he found himself face to face with a grizzled old man who still seemed to radiate strength and power. He was tall with a coarse face filled with lines, he had a deep scar running diagonally from beneath his eye to his chin. One eye was fogged over and probably blind while the other was a striking brown that seemed to bore into him, his face was set disapprovingly and framed by thick iron gray hair that fell to almost his shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Grandfather," Varanian's voice apologized despite coming from Scorpius' lips, except he sounded younger and his voice not quite broken. Was Scorpius seeing Varanian's memories? "I just need a break, we've been at this all night and my head really hurts."

"Your head hurts?" the man sneered and let go of him to strike him again across the other cheek, this time knocking him down onto the couch and Scorpius the man had the same cane Varanian was using currently as well as a gnarled wand in his hand, "Please, Pip, you don't know the meaning of pain! You think this is pain?! If you're being tortured by Death Eaters, they aren't going to quit because you have a little headache! They'll grill you for days, weeks, torture you until you're dead, saved or break. And as an Auror and a Varanian, the _last_ Varanian so you're not allowed to fucking break! Regardless of how pathetically terrible an Auror you'll be, you're worthless."

"There are no Death Eaters anymore."

"They'll be back, you mark my words! A baby defeating Voldemort, please? He'll be back," Varanian's Grandfather spat the Dark Lord's name fearlessly as Varanian or Scorpius pulled themselves into a sitting position, cringing at the agony in their head, "And those Imperius-pretenders are ready to return to his beck and call, they'd never have gotten away with their crimes if I was still Head Auror! They'd be dead or rotting away like the sacks of crap they are. When they come back, it'll be your responsibility to fight them. Do you understand? Fight them not join them."

"I'm not going to turn evil!" Varanian insisted determinedly, offended that his grandfather constantly seemed to obsess over that. Why couldn't his grandfather just love him like all the other grandfathers? It wasn't like he didn't try, nothing was ever good enough.

"There's bad blood in your veins, boy, bad blood," the old man said and met his eyes, he wished he had any idea what his grandfather was on about. He lashed out again, this time with his cane and there was a crack as it collided painfully with Varanian's face, he clutched at it as he fell back onto the couch, "What did I tell you about making sure your eyes are the same color?! Just because you're a freak of nature, you shouldn't look like one! Idiot! Worthless idiot! You need to be good or I'll kill you and I'll make sure as hell that you know the meaning of pain as you lay there dying! So let's try again, I will make a fucking Auror out of you yet!"

The scene changed and he was suddenly standing up in a crib by a window, it was dark out and he could see they were rather isolated with trees around. His small little arms were reaching out to it to draw the letter 'P' then an 'i' and another 'P' into the condensation on the window, he smiled to himself with delight at writing his name. There was a thunderous crack followed by a second but no lightning, instead two figures appeared outside in Auror cloaks and started heading into the house. He could hear raised voices arguing and footsteps echoing throughout the old house, he turned to face the door opposite the window. Scorpius saw they were in a nursery now, not unlike Sol's except much smaller, more cluttered and the toys were definitely geared more to a toddler then a baby. Varanian was maybe two or three here?

The door burst open and he saw Varanian's grandfather again, he looked a wreck, his Auror robes torn and gashes visible that were still bleeding and both his eyes were dark. He looked at him murderously and limped in, his leg twisted rather badly. The old man raised his wand to the toddler in the crib, Varanian just looked at him curiously and not really understanding what was happening. Despite knowing that Varanian must be alright, Scorpius felt afraid for him.

"_Avada_-"

Scorpius tried to cry 'no' but Varanian's lips didn't move and it didn't matter anyway, a second battered-looking Auror grabbed the grandfather and hauled him outside. The second man was slightly younger, maybe early fifties and bore a strong resemblance to the grandfather but without the underlying anger. He was tall and his hair was virtually identical to the grandfather except a very dark brown, his eyes were a steely gray like Varanian's but equally piercing as the old man's or Varanian's. And incredibly determined. He too was sporting wounds and bleeding from several places that Scorpius noticed as he closed the nursery door, he felt Varanian's confusion as why his father and grandfather weren't going over to greet.

"He needs to die, Philip!" the grandfather's voice raged, "Move aside or I'll make you, I have to stop history from repeating itself!"

"I'm not letting you kill my son!" a second man's voice snapped.

"He's not your son! He's hers no matter what a piece of paper says! She would want me to do this, she would understand! She always wanted him to die, she knew he was tainted! He's evil! You can see it in his eyes, you can see it! Move aside before I hurt you!"

"She was insane! If you want to kill him then you're doing it over my dead body! I've lost enough children tonight, want to know what that feels like, Father?!" the second man yelled, sounding on the verge of tears, "If you give a damn about family at all, you'll let her son live. Pip won't be evil."

Varanian shoved his hands over his ears, upset by the shouting. Scorpius had a morbid interest in knowing what happened but the scene changed again, this time it was a familiar place. He was in Hogwarts on the Grand Staircase, leaning against the wall and watching two students further down. Scorpius recognized them immediately, they had extremely dark auburn hair and dark chestnut eyes. Brutus was easily recognizable from his deformity, in fact aside from maybe being a bit smaller and younger, he looked pretty much the same. Professor Ashain was different though, he was clean-shaven and looked around Scorpius' age, he was shorter and very skinny. He clutched his books to his chest and Scorpius noticed his wrists were both bandaged, Brutus had his arm around him.

"You don't need to walk me to all my classes," Professor Ashain pointed out, his childish voice sounding strange.

"I'm just looking out for you, Atty," Brutus told him in a voice less gruff then his, in fact his deformed face might've been twisted into some semblance of concern, "I'll see you later."

"See you," Professor Ashain offered as he headed down that corridor, Brutus stared at him before trudging up the stairs.

"Hey Brutus!" Varanian called and Scorpius felt the smirk on his face, "I heard your baby brother tried to off himself!"

"That's mean, Pip," a girl chided him and he glanced briefly at a pretty scowling girl heading down the corridor, Scorpius recognized her vaguely as Varanian's dead wife, Ethel. Varanian chose not to reply, he had nothing against Brutus' brother… whatever his name was. He was just trying to get a rise of Brutus so he would duel him, he hadn't been able to all break.

"Shut up, Pip," Brutus growled as he headed up the stairs.

"Can't blame the poor kid, being stuck looking at someone as ugly as you his whole life," Varanian taunted and Brutus threw him a dark look.

"I said shut up."

"So it _was_ because you're ugly?" Varanian continued, his hand already wavering in readiness to draw his wand, "Maybe if you weren't such a lousy brother then he wouldn't want to kill himself."

"I said shut up, Pip," Brutus insisted, his voice cracking and his eyes shimmering with tears as Varanian apparently struck a nerve.

"I guess it's because all Ashains are screwed up in the head, he'll keep trying until he's dead-"

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Brutus screamed at him as he reached Varanian.

Varanian went to draw his wand but it didn't matter as Brutus didn't do the expected thing, Brutus smashed his six-fingered fist into Varanian's face instead of using his wand. Varanian thudded to the ground painfully, he tried to grab his wand to defend himself but Brutus lunged on him faster as his fists started flying. Varanian really wasn't very physically strong apparently, especially not compared to the muscular Brutus and any attempts to defend himself were pitifully brushed aside as Brutus beat the crap out of him. Varanian wished he was stronger, he was pathetic. He hated himself.

The scene changed again and he was lying in a hospital bed in St Mungo's, he was paralyzed and stuck staring up at the ceiling with nothing to distract himself from his agony or grief. He was in pain, from the neck down was a seething mass of agony. Scorpius wanted to cry it hurt so much, he wished the memory would change just to free himself from feeling Varanian's pain. Something happy. The scene changed again and the pain stopped thankfully, he was standing at a wedding alter now facing Ethel although her dark curly hair was covered by a veil down the back. She was grinning and so was he, he just felt happy to think he was spending the rest of his life with the woman he loved.

"Then I now declare you husband and wife, you way now kiss the bride," the priest was saying.

Scorpius couldn't see him as Varanian had eyes only for Ethel, they leaned in and he cupped her face in his hands before their lips pressed together. He wished the memory would change again, a kiss was a personal thing and he really didn't feel comfortable experiencing Varanian's. He had no idea how to stop seeing Varanian's memories though, he didn't even know how he was saying them when all he'd been trying to do was push him out. The scene changed again, he was in pain again except this time it was bearable. He felt incredibly battered, he had stinging wounds littered across him but he didn't care about that. He was in a house now, it looked to be Christmas from the decoration and tree with presents beneath it but there were Death Eaters littering their room. Varanian was casting a spell at the ground, it sent out a pulse and knocked them all down.

He wished it had killed them all though like they'd killed his children, some of the Death Eaters were already starting to sit up. He had to get Ethel out of there, she was all that was left and he had to save her. His mind was swimming, hours of torture taking its toll on his thought process. He heard a scream and his head darted to the source, Scorpius recognized Calderon as a bedraggled teenager from seeing him save Varanian before. It must be the same night. He was screaming as Dementors grabbed him, the poor boy had tried to help him. Varanian clung desperately to the hope of saving Ethel to send a sweeping silver Patronus at them, chasing them off Calderon and Varanian kept focused on chasing them away for a minute. The Death Eaters were scrabbling for their wands as was Ethel and she noticed what Scorpius also did, a small Death Eater was holding out their palm to Varanian just like the Shadow Master had to Antonius. Varanian didn't notice it though, a jet of green shot from the palm and Scorpius again had the urge to say 'no.'

"Pip!" Ethel cried as she threw herself protectively in front of her husband.

The curse struck her in the back just as Varanian turned back to her, her body collapsed dead into his arms. The wand dropped from his fingers so he could hold her in both hands, too shocked to react, too horrified to think. Scorpius could though, the Shadow Master had been the one to kill her. The Shadow Master had been there. Calderon knew who everyone was who'd been there and he'd seen what happened, he knew who had killed Ethel and who had gone on to be the Shadow Master. That narrowed it down to one. Scorpius felt abruptly wrenched from Varanian's mind and the next thing, he was on the cold concrete ground of the basement with the inside of his skull feeling like it was on fire along with Varanian, both of them breathing heavily.

* * *

**Part 4: **Together

* * *

Orous walked along the path to Hogsmeade with Lily, wondering what in the world he'd been thinking asking her out. He had no idea what to say to her. Should he compliment her or would that make it sound like he only cared about how she looked? Should he _not_ compliment her or would that make her think that he thought she was ugly? Should he make a comment on the scenery or would that make it sound like he wasn't interested in her? Should he ask her a question about herself or would that make him sound rude and nosy? He had to say something, they couldn't just keep walking in silence, she was looking very nervous and idly playing with her hands.

"You... You err... look-look pret-pretty nice today," Orous offered finally.

"Thanks," Lily blushed and pushed a strand of hair back behind her ear, "You look nice too."

"I look like a freak is what I look like," Orous muttered unhappily under his breath, he was an albino after all.

"What?"

"Err... I said this is my special occasion jacket," Orous said instead.

"Oh right, it definitely looks... special," Lily commented uncertainly, "I-I got this jacket for my birthday back in April, I don't wear it a lot because I'm afraid of it getting dirty because it's white."

"Well it looks very... clean," Orous added nervously and groaned inwardly, why had he done this again? He didn't know what to say or do, he wasn't even particularly talkative around people he knew.

"Thanks," Lily nodded just as Hogsmeade came into view, "Wow, I hadn't realized how big it had gotten."

"Is this your first time?"

"Y-Yeah," Lily offered and blushed again, "Is-Is it that obvious?"

"Well most people don't go to Third Year but you come from a magical family so maybe you had been."

"What?" Lily wondered in confusion and he felt his heart start to beat in panic, had he said something wrong, "What were you asking about?"

"I-If it w-was your fi-first time in Hogsmeade," Orous asked fearfully, his voice going quieter with every syllable, "Aside from what happened a few months ago."

"Oh, right. I've been when I was little but not since it's been rebuilt and I don't really remember it well anyway."

"Oh, right. What... What did you think I was asking about before then?"

"If... If it was my first date," Lily admitted as she eyed the ground.

"Oh, don't worry about it. It's my first time too."

"What?" Lily wondered again in confusion, "But you were here last year?"

"Not on a date."

"Oh, you were talking about dating. Sorry," Lily apologized and looked away as her cheeks burned red.

"No, I'm sorry, it's my fault," Orous also apologized and looked away himself blushing guiltily, "I should've been clearer what I meant."

"No, I should've understood. It was pretty obvious really."

"I'm sorry, Lily, I'm not very good at this."

"I don't think I'm very good either," Lily sighed glumly and stopped, he glanced back to her and saw her bite a quivering lip as she stared at the ground, "I don't usually talk stupidly like this, I'm just so nervous that I keep saying dumb things because I really like you."

"Come on, please don't be upset," Orous pleaded and touched her arm to try make her look back to him, her head shot up immediately and her brown eyes met his crimson through her oval glasses. She was no longer biting her lip and he moved his hand away fearfully that he'd done something wrong by touching her, "I'm sorry."

"You can touch my arm any time you want," Lily whispered breathlessly and blushed just as she did, looking away again. They were going to get nowhere if they kept doing that. He took a deep breath and refocused on her, putting his hands on both of her arms and she glanced back to him in surprise.

"Look, I'm nervous too, okay?" Orous continued as she met his eyes again and he moved his hands away, "But you needn't be, I wouldn't have asked you out if I didn't like you."

"Really?"

"Really."

"So... Let's just start again, stop worrying about making fools out of ourselves and have fun like people are supposed to have on these things from what I gather," Orous said and Lily laughed, smiling as she brushed her hair back from her face again.

"Okay."

"Okay," Orous returned her smile faintly and remembered what he'd meant to do earlier, "What's your favorite color?"

"My favorite color?" Lily repeated in surprise, "Err... Pink or red. What's your-"

"Got it. Close your eyes."

"What? Why?" Lily wondered in confusion.

"Just trust me."

"Alright."

Lily gave him a curious look before closing her eyes and he stepped back for more room, withdrawing the bundle of straws in his pocket. He shoved aside a random pang of doubt his magic would suddenly fail him as he whipped out his wand, glancing to make sure her eyes were still closed before continuing. He muttered the spell as quietly as possible and flicked it at the straws as he focused, they immediately blossomed into a bouquet of lilies in shades of pink and red. He pocketed his wand before stepping back to her.

"Okay, you can open them now," Orous told her and her eyes flicked back open, she gasped and gaped at the flowers, "These are for you, hope they're okay."

"Orous, they're beautiful," Lily said, smiling widely as she took them from him, "Thank you, I love them."

"It... It's nothing," Orous shrugged it although returned her smile as she breathed in the aroma of the flowers, "So... Shall we carry on?"

"Absolutely," Lily grinned and they continued onto Hogsmeade.

* * *

Michael followed Annie upstairs worriedly, concerned by the fact that Jack had punched his own sister. It didn't bode well for his suspicions about his father. She headed into the kitchen and he followed, she grabbed out a bottle of beer and opened it. He was taller than her now, he'd always looked up to her but now she was smaller. He had seen a little of her over the summer during his growth spurt so it wasn't the first time, however it still felt strange to look down on her.

"You can sit, you know? The chairs aren't going to bite you," Annie pointed out as she pulled out a chair, leaning back lazily and putting her feet up onto the table. Her black eye still sticking out, he was reminded of when she'd been beaten up badly by those guys who'd broken into her apartment that she'd killed. He didn't like seeing her hurt.

"Do you want me to heal your eye?" Michael offered as he sat down opposite.

"Nah, it'll heal. Not like I've never had a black eye before," Annie brushed it off as she sipped the beer she was always drinking, he'd seen her and Bob drinking the stuff but had never had any himself. He'd never really wanted any but he supposed there had to be something good about it.

"Can I have some? Beer, I mean," Michael asked curiously and Annie raised an eyebrow at him.

"Alright, you can try it," Annie said as she reluctantly handed the bottle to him.

He eyed the brown bottle cautiously, his nose wrinkling at the scent but he took a sip regardless. He immediately regretted it and gagged against the painfully bitter taste that seemed to burn through his taste bud, it sucked the saliva from his mouth and he could feel its progress down his throat from the path of flames it left behind. It was awful. Annie smirked and took the bottle back from him, switching it for a glass of water that he hadn't noticed and he took it gratefully.

"That stuff tastes horrible," Michael complained after downing half the glass.

"That's because its poison," Annie pointed out as if it were obvious, "You shouldn't drink it."

"You do."

"I'm already poisoned," Annie said simply and he went to argue against it but was distracted by Roman rushing out of the basement and into his room down the hall, he frowned in puzzlement but Annie gave him no mind as she continued, "So what did you want to talk to me about? You've been nervous since we left the basement."

"I erm... It's about Jack," Michael admitted and sighed, "He's been acting kind of... odd lately."

"Really? I hadn't noticed," Annie put in sarcastically before taking another swig from her beer.

"Yeah. And you know that my stepdad, Bob, died in prison?"

"Yep. Hope it hurt."

"And Ruth also died recently."

"Who?" Annie wondered with a frown.

"Bob's mother, she had custody of the little ones before-"

"Yeah, yeah, okay I know who you mean. Two dead pricks, so what?" Annie interrupted and took another swig from the bottle, Michael scowled worriedly as he recalled Scorpius' attitude had been very similar.

"Crystal's ex, you remember who attacked us?"

"Yep."

"He also died recently."

"Justice!" Annie cried but the enthusiasm didn't quite shine though, hopefully noticing it was a strange coincidence, "Go on."

"And Agnes' killer also died over the summer," Michael told her as she sipped her beer, "They all died of heart attacks suddenly and all in the last year."

"And you think Jack killed them?" Annie guessed rather correctly and Michael nodded.

"Or hired someone to have them killed or something, it can't be a coincidence that people who've wronged me are dying."

"Michael, I know you don't have the best relationship with Jack and he's done a lot of stupid things, criminal things but... he's not a killer," Annie insisted albeit quietly, "And if he was, he'd do it in the heat of the moment himself. Not hiring someone to hunt people down years later, he's not methodical like that. He's a decent person at heart, he tries to do what he thinks is right... Even if he fails completely at it. Or runs away because he doesn't know how to deal with something."

"Well maybe he thinks killing the people who wronged me is the right thing here," Michael pointed out, not sure whether he was more desperate to tell him his thoughts were insane or to agree with him. He didn't want to be right but... he _knew_ something wasn't right and he couldn't shake the feeling, "And I think... I think it's the same person who killed PAW, the ones who didn't die from the explosion died from heart attacks."

"Pip thinks PAW were killed by some rogue Specter called One or something. Not even Jack would be that stupid to get mixed up with that," Annie said but didn't sound convinced as she took a long swig from her bottle, shaking her head, "He wouldn't."

"You know something's not right," Michael stated and Annie sighed as she glanced back to him, meeting his eyes and he knew she agreed with him on that at least.

"I'll talk to Pip about it. See what he says, he'll know more how likely it is if Jack's hiring wizard assassins or making deals with Specters or whatever and what to do about it."

"Pip?" Michael wondered in surprise that she called Varanian by a nickname.

"It's Varanian's name," Annie stated as if it were obvious before taking another swig, "Well, it's his name like Annie's my name. He doesn't like Philip. I only call him Philip to annoy him, mostly when he tries to walk without his cane because his new muscles are weak and the needs the support still. Or just let him fail on his own. He's stubborn as fuck."

"Would he even care about this?"

"You mean about a potential serial killer with possible Shadow connections? Yes, Michael, Pip's kind of unhealthily obsessed with that stuff."

"I know what that's like," Michael sighed worriedly, thinking of Scorpius' recent focus. Or Maurice before he started dating. Although in Varanian's case, he supposed it was more justified as he was a fugitive and leading their kind of group fighting them.

"He's alright though. We'll figure this out, okay?" Annie offered seriously as she met his eyes and Michael nodded, feeling relieved and comforted that she believed him and would help him. He could always count on her, "So how's things aside from that?"

* * *

"What... What just... happened?" Scorpius wondered breathlessly as he pulled himself to his knees, cringing at the pain inside his skull, "Were... Were those your memories that... that I saw?"

"Yes," Varanian confirmed as he also sat, rubbing his head and scrabbling for his cane. Scorpius spotted it and handed it to him, it reminded him of his grandfather's except the head was golden instead of silver and had a more intricate design of a Phoenix or something, "You were supposed to... to try push me out, not get inside my head instead."

"I'm sorry, I didn't... mean to," Scorpius apologized, truthfully he hadn't been trying to do that and wasn't even sure how he had. Varanian staggered to his feet and half-collapsed back onto his chair, Scorpius stood to help him but also found himself unsteady on his feet from dizziness and fell back onto his own chair.

"I believe you," Varanian admitted as he put a hand over his eyes and rested his elbow on the table to hold it up, his horrific scars now visible again.

"My head-"

"Will hurt, it'll dull in a few minutes and be more bearable. Minds are delicate things, it hurts for them to be knocked about. Especially unpracticed or unexperienced like us."

Scorpius tried to nod but regretted it as moving his head hurt, instead he propped it onto his hand and put his elbow onto the table. He decided to wait a minute to see if the pain eased before continuing, he wasn't even sure how to broach the subject of the Shadow Master killing Varanian's wife. Varanian was right, the pain did start to dull somewhat and he flicked open his eyes, noticing the pictures of Varanian's family right by him. He looked up and skimmed them, quickly finding Ethel, the grandfather and father from the memories in some of them, along with the in-laws he'd met a few years ago. The others he didn't know but they had a family resemblance to Varanian, it was eerily uncanny with one young woman although none of them had the icy blue eyes Varanian favored or the same texture of scruffy hair, aside from his children his relatives all wore Auror robes in at least one picture. He even saw one photo of a memory he'd experienced, Varanian and Ethel at the altar being married.

"Did... Did you see what I saw?" Scorpius asked cautiously, still not sure how to bring it up but it would help if Varanian was aware of what he'd seen. Maybe he'd even also noticed it.

"Yes," Varanian confirmed without looking up, Scorpius got the distinct impression he didn't want to talk about it but it was important.

"In the last memory-"

"Don't."

"But I saw-"

"I said don't, Scorpius! It's the worst night of my life, I can't... can't deal with that so just don't."

"I think the Shadow Master killed Ethel!" Scorpius blurted out and Varanian finally looked up to him in surprise, his icy blue eyes swimming in unshed tears and Scorpius would guess he'd been trying very hard not to cry.

"Wh-"

"The Killing Curse didn't come from a wand, it came from a palm," Scorpius told him seriously, "Just like how the Shadow Master tried to kill Antonius. He didn't even have a wand near him, he killed her with his own hand."

"Are you sure about this?"

"I wouldn't have said it if I wasn't, you were too distracted to see but I saw what she did. You know what this means?" Scorpius wondered and Varanian said nothing but his eyes became as dark as his grandfather's, "We know they tortured other children like him to try make them do magic or whatever psychotic thing the Death Eaters were trying to do, they must've brought more than just Calderon and one of them was the Shadow Master. I know they were all wearing masks but how many other people were like Calderon and not a Death Eater?"

"Just... Just one," Varanian admitted, staring off darkly into space and Scorpius heard a bang. His head swiveled and he noticed cracks shooting though the concrete walls all around them, spreading down across the floor and up the steps. Varanian continued as if he hadn't noticed the interruption, "Marius knows who all of those people are, he knows who the Shadow Master is even if he might not realize it. He'd never tell me any of them though, except to say they were mostly dead or imprisoned now."

"I erm... I can ask him," Scorpius offered nervously as he looked back to Varanian, the fissures seemed to have stopped at least and Varanian glanced back to him, "He's my cousin, he might tell me. He should if he realizes the other boy was the Shadow Master and the son of Voldemort."

"Be careful when you ask him, he doesn't like to talk about it and if you push too hard then he'll snap."

"I'm sure it'll be fine."

"Hey Scorpius, we should probably-" Michael began as he and Annie started to come down the stairs, only to stop and look around the fractures in confusion, "Go."

"There's cracks, Pip," Annie pointed out while Varanian pulled out a blackened, battered pocket watch, "All around the room there's cracks."

"Yeah, it is getting late," Varanian realized as he glanced at the watch, "You probably should go, Scorpius, you don't want them looking for you. Remember to get Potter to send the letter to his father mentioning Akram and be careful when you talk to Marius, tell me how it goes either way."

"Why is there cracks?!"

"I'll remember," Scorpius assured him as he stood, his head did still hurt but the dizziness had passed, "See you soon."

* * *

_Tommy was in shock, he was horrified. That man was dead. That man was dead because of him. It terrified him, the lifeless eyes haunted his dreams and every time he looked through the bars he saw the dead man staring at him. A man had been alive, he could breathe and think and move, he'd had a life even if he was in Azkaban. And now that was gone. He'd been a whole person and now he was gone. Because of him. Because of the Shadow. Because of Sal's stupid idea. Tommy didn't even know his name._

_"Are you still upset about that dying man?" Sal asked of him tiredly one of the days not long after in Parseltongue as they sat huddled up on the floor together as usual while their mother was lost in memories because of the Dementor that had come to bring to their food._

_"Of course I am!" Tommy snapped at her seriously, upset she wouldn't know that, "Don't you even care that that guy's dead?!"_

_"I care, it's sad and scary but I'm not losing sleep over it. It's not our fault he died, we had no way of knowing what the Shadows can do if you try to get rid of them so you shouldn't feel bad."_

_"Not our fault?!" Tommy yelled at her and jumped to his feet, she did the same in confusion, "How is it not our fault?! It was your stupid idea and my stupid fault for listening to you to try get rid of that thing!"_

_"I didn't know it would do that and neither did you so why should we feel bad? It wasn't like we did it on purpose."_

_"It doesn't matter, it's our fault! Our responsibility! And now a man is dead, he's dead, Sal! He's dead!"_

_"Would you calm down?" Sal complained and he felt a surge of anger at her calmness._

_"How can you be calm?! How can you not care?! Don't you have a heart?!"_

_"How can you even say that?!" Sal shot back angrily, "You're the one who let the Shadow go anyway, maybe you feel bad because you wanted it to kill because you've been looking into its eyes too much?!"_

_"It was your idea in the first place, maybe you knew it would kill that man and you made me do it because you wanted it to kill because you're been looking into its eyes too much?!"_

_"How can you even say that?!"_

_"Because you're a horrible person!"_

_"Well you're stupid!"_

_"Well you're ugly!"_

_"I hate you!"_

_"I hate you more!" Tommy screamed at her and slapped her across the face as hard as he could, like he'd seen their mother do plenty of times._

_Sal fell, thudding back painfully onto the ground as he stalked off into the corner beneath the window, he sat and curled up with his face buried into the knees he hugged into his chest. Sal did the same in the corner by the bars but he wasn't paying attention to her. Silent tears dribbled from his eyes and soaked into his knees, he hoped the silent sobs were mistaken for shivering because his mother didn't really like it when they cried. He hated his life. He hated being there. He hated being around Dementors. He hated being cold and hungry. He hated being trapped. He hated the icy feeling inside his mind. He hated the Shadows. He hated that that poor man was dead. _

_He felt so bad it was tearing him up inside, he'd just wanted his twin's support and she'd thought he was stupid to be upset. Or maybe she had just been trying to make him feel better by saying he shouldn't feel bad because it was an accident. He'd completely overreacted just because he was angry, he didn't really think she was a horrible person or ugly, he certainly didn't hate her and he definitely shouldn't have struck her. What kind of brother hits his sister? He was the horrible person. He decided he really didn't like being angry, it made him say bad things he didn't mean. Just because he was upset, he shouldn't take it out on her. He looked up and saw Sal was now pacing up and down the bars again, she paused when he noticed him look up though._

_"Want to hear a rhyme I made up?" Sal asked him out of the blue before he could apologize._

_"Erm... Okay," Tommy muttered in agreement._

_"Anyone want to dance with the shadows?" Sal started and Tommy felt a chill sweep through him, knowing what Shadows had to be the subject, "Anyone dare to take on the night?"_

_"I changed my mind."_

_"Can you stay sane as you stare down their gaze? Do you still want to do what is right?"_

_"I don't want to hear this rhyme anymore!" Tommy shrieked at her but she continued anyway, she was probably doing it to get back at him for slapping her._

_"You'll lose your soul if you let them take hold."_

_"Shut up!" Tommy yelled again and put his hands over his ears to try block it out, scared of losing his soul or if it took hers or their mothers._

_"Never again shall you walk in the light!"_

_"Your brother said to shut up, Sal!" their Mother yelled at her, crossing the room and striking Sal herself. Sal gripped the bar to stop herself falling, she glanced at him and there was a brief flash of jealousy in her dark eyes, "Can you never behave?! Why can't you be more like Tommy and sit there quietly when I'm busy instead of stirring up trouble?!"_

_"I guess I'm just a horrible person," Sal muttered unhappily as she hung her head, thankfully their mother didn't comment on that as she instead noticed the food waiting over by the wall where they'd moved it to wait for her._

_"Let's just eat before it gets colder," their Mother said as she licked her lips eagerly, moving over to the plate of gooey gruel and carrying it over to the bed they used for a table. Tommy followed and knelt obediently by the bed, anticipation of eating taking his mind off his misery for a minute but Sal stayed standing._

_"I'm not hungry."_

_"You need to eat or you'll die!"_

_"Good! Then at least I won't be here!" Sal spat and stormed off into the corner he'd been in._

_"Fine! See if I care!" their Mother screeched at her as she curled up and buried her head in her knees, "All the more for us!"_

_"Mother, I don't want to eat if Sal's not," Tommy whispered as his mother also knelt, fearful of her dying._

_"One day won't kill her, she can just have my share tomorrow if she's done being stubborn and this will teach her to not do this again," their Mother offered kindly as she patted his head, "And if she still is then I'll shove it down her throat."_

_"Um... Okay." _

_Tommy nodded, he hoped she'd just eat tomorrow because he didn't think it sounded nice to have food shoved down your throat. He and his mother shared the tasteless gruel, he kept hoping Sal would come over and change her mind but she didn't. He felt guilty for enjoying getting extra for having most if not all of Sal's share at his mother's insistence, if he felt so bad about a stranger being dead then he didn't think he could function at all if his twin died. She stayed curled up in the corner and he went over to her when he finished eating, sitting beside her and she looked up slightly with blotchy eyes._

_"I'm sorry," Tommy apologized in Parseltongue, "For hitting you and the things I said, I didn't mean it. I was just upset."_

_"And you think that just makes it okay?" Sal asked somewhat darkly and he felt his heart clench fearfully that she wouldn't forgive him._

_"I said I was sorry, I can't take it back or I would. What else can I do?" Tommy wondered and had an idea, "You can hit me if it'll make you feel better, then we'd be evener."_

_"No, that's just silly. Plus you'd have to think of a rhyme to annoy me and that's really hard, it took me forever," Sa pointed out, "I forgived you. I don't like us to fight."_

_"Neither do I. We should never fight again."_

_"Yeah. And you should know, I'm sorry too. I don't really hate you or think you're stupid. I was just trying to make you feel better, I don't like seeing you upset especially by an accident. If you want to blame anyone then blame me, I'm the bad one."_

_"You're not bad."_

_"Mother thinks I am, she hates me," Sal pointed out unhappily and Tommy put her arm around his sister comfortingly._

_"She doesn't really hate you, she just gets annoyed easily. She slaps me too sometimes."_

_"Rarely. And even then it's usually my fault."_

_"Well its good you have ideas," Tommy assured her, "We'd not have looked out the window if not for you or got to be free for a few minutes and even though it went wrong, at least you was trying to get rid of it acause I had no idea. It's better to have ideas then to not, if they go bad then you learn from them and if they go right then its brilliant. Maybe one day it will even prove to Mother and Father how special you really are, more than me. You're the one who'd do great and I'll just be me."_

_"We'll always be together though, won't we Tommy?" Sal asked worriedly._

_"Of course we will, Sal," Tommy promised and attempted a smile that she returned, "We're twins, we'll always be together no matter what. Even if it's just us against the world then we'd still be standing side by side."_

_"We still need to figure out what to do about the Shadow before that though. You can't get rid of it or it'll attack people, you need to keep it close."_

_"Well maybe we can try to understand it and teach it to be good."_

_"I don't think you can teach a Dementor's Shadow to be good, it's not a person and it doesn't talk and it doesn't even have a name."_

_"I'll give it a name then," Tommy decided and thought for a moment, "One. Because it's the only one."_


	6. Chapter 6: Unwanted Victories

_**Parts (20-24)**_

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**V  
**

**Chapter 6  
**

Unwanted Victories

* * *

**Part 1: **Carving Memories

* * *

Scorpius and Michael left Annie in the hideout after Michael hugged his aunt goodbye and headed back into the field outside the protective enchantments to portkey back, filling in Michael on what had happened as they went. Although he didn't say anymore than that he had some of Varanian's memories before Ethel's death to spare Varanian's privacy, it wasn't really necessary for everyone else to know. It was late though as they portkeyed back to Hogsmeade, everyone was heading back if they weren't already gone so they also returned to Hogwarts. Michael just wanted to be gone and Scorpius was only focused on talking to Calderon about the Shadow Master or Albus to get him to send the letter mentioning Akram. Also lying down would be nice, his head was still throbbing dully.

"Hey you're finally back!" Albus exclaimed immediately and practically pounced on them as they entered the Common Room, he was grinning from ear to ear, "Come on, let me tell you..."

"I have some important news first," Scorpius pointed out as Albus grabbed him and Michael, leading them over to the oddly empty couches to sit. Maurice was the only one there, leaning lazily against the corner with his hand propping up his head and the elbow resting on the arm, his translator necklace was clutched the other and his expression was his usual neutral one.

"Nothing is more important than my first date!"

"I disagree."

"I'm with Scorpius," Maurice offered.

"Where are the others?" Michael wondered curiously.

"Well Orous and Vern are Hufflepuffs so I haven't seen them, the others were feeling tired for some reason so they went to lie down," Albus explained disinterestedly before launching happily into his tale and Scorpius decided he might as well let Albus get it over with first, "So anyway as I was just starting to tell Maurice, I took Grozda to one of those restaurants and we got a table. Then she took off that massive furry cloak she was wearing and she had this sexy red dress on and she looked so _hot_."

"Lenore doesn't need a fancy red dress to look beautiful," Maurice complained in a haughty tone to which Albus threw him a dark look.

"No one cares about Lenore. I accidentally spat my drink out onto her... Not my best moment," Albus admitted with a slight blush as he continued, "But she didn't mind, she said my awkwardness was cute and refreshing because it made me seem more genuine and usually guys just want to out with her because her Dad is a famous former Seeker. And can I just say, wow, she has met so many cool people because of her Dad! Famous Quidditch players, players I have chocolate frog cards of and even the Minister for Magic in Bulgaria. And she's traveled to such cool places because of it, she's been to every continent except Antarctica. It makes my life sound boring in comparison but she knows what it's like to live in the shadow of famous parents, I never thought I'd meet anyone I had that in common with. But get this, she told me something really cool that I think you'd like. The main reason her Dad accepted the job here is because my Dad asked him too because he wants more trustworthy people around and Midas' main qualification is that she's related to the Minister so he trusts her too, Dad couldn't find someone else too. Dad's afraid of the Shadows going after Hogwarts again apparently."

"He'd be a fool to not be."

"I guess but mostly I'm just shocked Dad never mentioned it, why would her Dad tell her but my Dad didn't tell me? Does my Dad not trust me enough? This was before last year when I stood up for Varanian so he had no reason to not to."

"Maybe her Dad just told her as an explanation of why she was being uprooted from her home to live in a different country?" Michael suggested.

"Or maybe he thinks you're safer not knowing?" Scorpius guessed, "That there's no point worrying you."

"I guess," Albus shrugged and shook his head, "But I veered off into a tangent there."

"The tangent was more interesting," Maurice stated dryly and Albus threw him another dark look.

"_Anyway_, the food arrived and we were comparing the cuisines of England and Bulgaria, they have such weird named dishes there like Tararator or Shopskiiing Salad or get this, Elensia Butt," Albus told them and chuckled, "_Butt_. They eat a food with butt in the name!"

"And in France the word for yes sounds the same as another word for urine, things mean different things in different languages."

"But it's still funny," Albus insisted and glanced at their unamused faces, "At least to me, you people just have no sense of humor. You don't even laugh at Marigold. Hehe, _Marigold_."

"Albus-" Michael began but Albus cut him off.

"Anyway, back on track. We talked about Quidditch a lot and do you know she wants to be a professional Quidditch player? Her Dad's been training her since _before she could walk_. The only reason she was just a reserve last year was because Kyle pissed her off and she refused to play but she was so good he kept her on the team anyway, I'm kind of nervous for the match in two weeks now but it's still cool," Albus pointed out and sighed wistfully, "I wished _my_ parents had trained me since before I could walk, then I'd be a better player. But moving on, after the meal we were finishing our drinks and I tried some of my poetry on her. And she loved it! She said thought it was so sweet and she said no one had ever written poetry for her before, she thought it was cleverly written and she liked it. And she laughed at my jokes. And I just had a great time with her."

"Well good," Scorpius said, glad the story was over so he could get to his news, "So-"

"I'm not done yet! I haven't even got to the best part. So we walked back together to Hogwarts and we got to the doorway and she said 'I had a great time with you today, Albus' - she has the cutest accent - and I said 'so did I' and she said 'it would be nice if we did this again sometime' and I said 'absolutely.' And then she looked at me and I looked at her, our eyes were just locked and then, _then_ she kissed me. On the lips!" Albus told the excitedly and smiled dreamily, "It was the most amazing feeling in the whole world, I felt like I'd died and gone to heaven, like it was so incredible that it couldn't really be happening like when I made the team. I'm in love. Grozda Stanislava Hermione Krum is my soul mate. She's the One, the future Mrs Potter, the one I've been waiting for my whole life. We're having a picnic next week."

"What happened to all Slytherins being bad?" Michael questioned curiously while Scorpius felt a pang of sympathy for Abby.

"Well that was before I got to know her, wasn't it? I mean, it's not really fair to judge the whole house based off stories from my parents' time at Hogwarts and the fact almost every bad person in the world is from Slytherin. Besides, she didn't even start here until her Fifth Year. And Lorcan's good and Slytherin and Vern's girlfriend Olivia is alright."

"Does this mean you realize Lenore's okay?" Maurice asked, sounding actually hopeful.

"Of course not," Albus scoffed and Maurice was the one to nail him with a dark look, only Maurice's was infinitely more menacing, "Lenore's an evil bitch through and through, she is using you and now lying about not using you and she has connections to the _illegal_ black market. That girl is bad. But the rest of Slytherin is alright. How was your date anyway, Maurice? Did she take you to see the black market shop that sells the hearts of virgins for evil Dark Magic and shit?"

"We went dancing actually, Lenore hadn't been before but she's a fast learner. I like dancing," Maurice pointed out, "And I don't know any Dark Magic that requires the hearts of virgins, although I do know a spell that rips out the heart. I haven't tried it though, it would be rather interesting because I haven't seen a real life human heart before."

"And there's that scary psychotic Maurice we all know and love/are terrified of!" Albus offered, his face white and his smile nervous before they were distracted by the portrait hole opening. Lily came in with a bunch of flowers and a smile on her face, Albus jumped up with his expression snapping to anger in an instant, "What evil son of a bitch dared to give you flowers?!"

"My date," Lily told him and held them out to him, "Aren't they beautiful?"

"No!" Albus barked irrationally, "You're thirteen, you're too young to date!"

"Are you sure you're not just annoyed that I had my first date when I was younger then you?" Lily said calmly with a raised eyebrow and Albus' face flushed but his anger remained.

"No, you're too young and not mature enough for this. You're my baby sister and I'm not going to stand idly by while some horny teenager shoves his tongue down your throat!"

"He didn't! We haven't kissed," Lily pointed out and looked wistful, "Yet."

"Oh," Albus muttered in surprise before getting riled up again, "Well then you're my baby sister and I'm not going to stand idly by while some horny teenager holds your little hand in his huge sweaty one!"

"He didn't! We haven't held hands yet either, I was busy holding the flowers," Lily added before blushing slightly with a smile as she patted her arm, "He touched my arm though. I'm never washing this arm again."

"Oh."

"That makes no sense, you're wearing a jacket," Maurice commented and Lily threw him a dark look identical in expression to her brother's.

"Well that bastard still gave you flowers and he's going to pay!"

"It's just Orous."

"You're dating Orous?!" Albus snapped at her and Lily smiled happily.

"Yes," Lily admitted readily, "Not that it's really any of your business so get used to it."

"You have to break up with him, Lily," Albus protested as his sister started heading in the direction of the girl's dormitory but she didn't and continued on until she was out of sight, "Lily. Lily! Lily! Dammit."

"So now can I tell you what happened with Varanian?" Scorpius wondered hopefully now that was over.

"Nope, now I have to go get Orous to break up with my sister," Albus decided determinedly and angrily strode over to the portrait hole, they scrambled to follow him. He was moving surprisingly quickly and was nearly at the end of the corridor by the time they'd followed him out the portrait hole, they ran to catch up to him as he started down the Grand Staircase.

"Don't you think you're overreacting?! So what if Lily and Orous are dating?!"

"So what?! She's my bloody sister! How would you feel if Sol started dating?!"

"He's not even one yet!"

"Exactly! It would be weird and wrong... and _weird_ and _wrong_."

"Lily's not one though, she's a teenager!" Scorpius insisted as they continued storming down the stairs with Albus, "And it's not like she's dating some horrible person who's just taking advantage of her, its Orous not a male Lenore."

"Wait, what was that about Lenore?" Maurice questioned in confusion, clearly trying to keep up with the conversation but it wasn't easy for him in motion.

"I don't care who it is!" Albus snapped fiercely, "I don't want anyone running their hands over my little sister and then breaking her little heart!"

"If you're this bad worried about your sister, I hope you never have daughters."

"Orous!" Albus called and they spotted Orous also heading down the stairs and almost on the ground floor, Scorpius guessed he'd probably walked Lily back to Gryffindor Tower. Orous glanced back to them and Scorpius noticed a smile on his face before he saw Albus' expression as they drew closer.

"What's up?" Orous wondered as they reached the ground floor and came to a halt.

"What do you think?! What the hell do you think you're doing dating my sister?!"

"Would you just calm down?" Scorpius complained faster than Michael who had also opened his mouth to speak.

"I will not calm down! She's my little sister! What the hell, Orous?!"

"Well she... she likes me and she's kind... kind of nice," Orous said quietly and shakily, "I don't see what the problem is."

"The problem is that she's my sister!"

"I don't like Lenore but I don't go around yelling at her for dating my brother."

"Would you people lay off Lenore?!" Maurice snapped at them irritably.

"She's my sister!" Albus screamed at Orous, ignoring Maurice's comment, "She's young and fragile and you have no right to be sneaking around her behind my back!"

"I wasn't sneaking around," Orous insisted looking upset, "I was going to tell you."

"Oh really?!"

"Yes. I knew you'd probably react badly and you'd ruin it so I thought I'd wait until after the date before telling you, I was going to tell you the next time I saw you," Orous whispered and his eyes looked teary, "Not that it matters, you've ruined it anyway."

"Good! You can't date my sister!"

"_What?!_" an unwelcome voice screeched and they glanced back to see James and Carver had entered the room, people were still returning and there were plenty of people passing them by. James went red-faced with rage, "Ghosty's dating my sister?!"

"Yes."

"I'll kill you for that, freak!" James spat and withdrew his wand, Maurice reacted faster than the rest of them and leaped protectively in front of his brother with his wand already in hand and trained on James.

"Go ahead," Maurice told him with a cold smirk, "Give me a reason."

"Unless you have a death wish, lower your wand," Albus hissed at his brother, looking somewhere between annoyed still at James and concerned.

"No!" James cried determinedly and smiled himself, "I can take out one deaf fourteen year old."

"No. No, you can't."

"Jamie, don't," Carver pleaded, "He's been trained and he's not going to hold back against you."

Scorpius knew James was a fair duelist but... well, Maurice was in a league of his own and he expected a very one-sided duel. James ignored Carver's advice though as he lashed out with a violet non-verbal spell, Maurice threw up a Shield Charm without effort and followed immediately with a stunner. James threw up a Shield Charm of his own while Maurice made a sweeping motion with his wand before James had finished, a red crescent shot out while James' shield was taking Maurice's first spell. James hadn't time to put up another shield as his was shattered, instead having to duck to avoid the spell. Maurice had already slashed his wand violently down with the Acutus Curse, James couldn't defend himself or move fast enough from the unhealable spell. Scorpius braced himself for the bloody wound James would be receiving and Maurice would be in severe trouble for and-

Carver leaped in front of James quickly without hesitation and slashed his own wand up with the same curse, there were sparks of white light and a clang as if the spells had collided and no one ended up injured, much to Scorpius' surprise. There were a flicker of surprise in Maurice's eyes too but he recovered fast enough that you could've missed it if you blinked, he lashed out with another Acuta and it was Carver's turn to be surprised but he reacted in turn to throughout another. Again there were white sparks and a clang but no one got, was that was some technique to blocking it that just no one had told him? Maurice went at it and again and again Carver blocked, stepping back as his expression turned stony. James scampered out of the way and he watched the duel - along with an increasing crowd - with wide eyes, Maurice and Carver going back and forth as if their wands were forming invisible swords to swing against each other. Scorpius guessed you had to slash the second curse in the same place as if Maurice aimed lower then Carver slashed low too but at a different angle, considering Carver was stocky and muscular he was incredibly agile and fast.

Maurice moved like a demon but Carver was holding his own against him quite readily, Carver seemed to grow tired of the Acutus Curse though as he finally fired a stunner immediately after his last defensive slash. Maurice's jumped out of the way and aimed his wand at the ground as he did so, a bluish spell shot out and ice shot out across the floor that made those closest lose their balance. Except Carver, he too jumped and aimed his wand at the ground, there was a bang and the ice shattered underfoot. Carver was already weaving his wand for his next spell though, the shards rose and turned their sharpest points on Maurice. He flicked his wand and the shards shot towards the younger boy, Maurice made another sweeping motion with his wand and the shards melted to water before they reached him. He continued making circling motions though and the water started circling him like a cocoon that engulfed him, the water then started to change color to a bright orange liquid that Scorpius would guess was lava from the heat he could feel radiating from it. And then the lava rushed to Carver and Scorpius felt somewhat disturbed at what a dark turn the duel had taken, from both sides even. Yelling at the deaf boy to stop would be pointless, Maurice couldn't duel and translate at the same time.

Scorpius was starting to wonder if he should do something. Carver was already moving his wand though and the lava stopped in mid-air, it shifted like bubbles in a lava lamp and formed into triangular shapes as it hardened to shiny steel. Carver flicked his wand and as if released from a bow, the new knives sprang towards Maurice. Maurice raised his wand and the blades jerked upwards, he made another gesture and they exploded into water that showered down like rain over the duelists. He made a gesture that Scorpius recognized vaguely a bolt of lightning shot down at Carver that caused such a deafening that everyone but Maurice and Carver put their hands over their ears, Carver cringed at the noise but leaped aside. Maurice repeated the gesture instantly but this time Carver was ready, he stepped aside and threw his wand out at Maurice. The lighting veered in mid-air to shoot directly at Maurice instead, Maurice started making circular movements and the lightning started consolidating into an orb of electrical energy in front of the younger boy. Carver made his own movements and conjured a ball of crimson flames, he gestured and it shot towards Maurice just as Maurice did the same to the lightning. The two were about to collide in mid-air before a shimmering shield suddenly slammed up between up them, the orbs disintegrated on contact and the surprise was evident on both duelists faces.

"WHAT THE _HELL_ ARE YOU TWO PLAYING AT!?" another unwelcome voice yelled and everyone turned collectively to the Grand Staircase, Rutherford stood on the first floor with his wand out indicating he'd been the one to cause the shield. He put away his wand as he stalked down the steps looking enraged and horrified, Maurice and Carver stood breathing heavily but with their wands by the side. The duel was over. Maurice put his free hand to his necklace, "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT KIND OF DANGEROUS MAGIC YOU'RE USING?! YOU COULD'VE KILLED EACH OTHER! YOU COULD'VE KILLED ALL THESE IDIOT ONLOOKERS!"

"I'm sorry, Sir," Carver offered meekly, looking guilty as he hung as head. Maurice however, was remorseless.

"I had it under control," Maurice said calmly, his expression perfectly neutral. The crowd parted to allow Rutherford through, he looked incredulously between the pair as he reached them but seemed to make an attempt to curb his anger.

"This is going down as_ two_ major offenses against each of you," Rutherford decided and Carver looked back up with wide eyes, "One for dueling and using such lethal magic, you should count yourselves lucky that I'm not expelling you both on the spot."

"But I-"

"I don't give a damn how it started or what happened, you'll only dig your grave deeper so I suggest you shut your mouth, Mr Edwards!" Rutherford snapped fiercely and Carver closed his mouth, "You will both be receiving detentions and I'm taking a hundred points from Gryffindor!"

"A hundred?!"

"A hundred each!" Rutherford corrected and the Gryffindors in the crowd looked horrified to be losing two hundred points, "And furthermore, I am taking a further twenty from everyone here who stood and watched as an example to you! If you see this kind of happening then you don't stand and watch like a moron, you leave and find a member of staff!"

"That's not fair!" a random boy from the crowd called out, horrified and outraged expressions were abundant at the extra loss of house points.

"It's perfectly fair! The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing, if you see something bad happening then it's your responsibility to do something about if you can! And you can, it's not hard to go get a teacher instead of standing here gawking!" Rutherford yelled and took a deep breath, visibly trying to calm himself, "And a further twenty points from you for protesting. Now get out of my sight all of you, you should all be ashamed of yourselves. And Mr Rivers, Mr Edwards, I will be writing to your families about this."

"Wow, Carve, I didn't know you could duel like that," James said to his friend as he went over, looking awestruck while Carver looked deeply ashamed as he shrugged it off.

"I hold back in class, I don't want to hurt anyone," Carver muttered unhappily as the pair went off together, Orous forgotten and Maurice stared after them.

"I had to agree with Rutherford but... I agree with Rutherford," Albus admitted, "You went _way_ overboard."

"He's a Shadow," Maurice said darkly and they looked at him in shock as he glanced to them, "Carver's been trained like I have, he's one of them."

"Just because he can hold his own against you in a duel, it doesn't mean he's a Shadow. Maybe he's just good at dueling."

"Yeah, I beat you in a duel before," Orous added in agreement and Maurice scowled at them.

"You beat me because I hold back when I'm against people I care about, Carver is a Shadow," Maurice insisted but Scorpius found himself in agreement with Albus and Orous.

"Being a good duelist didn't make Carver a Shadow," Scorpius pointed out, "He is a Sixth Year, Molly and Latimer held their own against Shadows last year when they were Sixth Years so it isn't that unbelievable."

"I know the difference between a good duelist and someone who's been trained! And I'm telling you, Carver's been trained."

"And we're not believing you," Albus commented as he clapped his hand on Maurice's shoulder, "Sorry, buddy."

"You don't believe me about Lenore, you don't believe me about Carver, you people are assholes!" Maurice snapped at them.

"Or maybe you just have lousy judgment lately," Albus offered and Maurice threw them all a dark look before stalking off.

* * *

**Part 2: **Pushing

* * *

At least the duel distracted Albus from being mad at Orous for dating his sister, or at least temporarily but Scorpius would take it as he could finally get Albus to write that letter to his father. Albus even had the perfect excuse as he also wanted to talk about his date, Grozda coming from a different country was also a good stepping stone to start mentioning Scorpius' time in another country. Except Egypt instead of Bulgaria and just for the purpose of mentioning Akram, he could only hope Harry wasn't completely stupid to figure it out like they had. After helping Albus draft the letter or least the paragraph relevant to him, he headed down to Calderon's room alone to speak to his cousin but Calderon wasn't there.

He took out the map to check but couldn't find him, Calderon didn't show up on the map. Scorpius would guess it was because he was born in Azkaban, outside the range of the England technically. He also noticed someone who should show up though, Antonius wasn't on the map although his father and sister were in his office or their quarters as it still showed up as office. Considering what he'd caught Antonius doing recently, he'd guess he was in a room that didn't show up on the map because it didn't exist. He headed instead up there, concerned about Antonius practicing magic by himself. However, when he opened the door he found himself in a cold empty room with a lone gray couch in the center of barren stone walls. Antonius was on it with his dog cuddled up to him, he was stroking her as he sobbed. Scorpius wandered over to him worriedly, the younger boy hastily stopped when he spotted him and tried to wipe his eyes to hide the tears.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Scorpius asked gently as he went over to him and sat down by the younger boy.

"Nothing," Antonius lied.

"You were crying."

"No I wasn't."

"I saw you," Scorpius insisted incredulously, Antonius' eyes were still red and blotchy from crying in fact.

"Well fine I was but it's just nothing," Antonius admitted irritably, refusing to meet his eyes as he stroked his dog determinedly. A dog that Scorpius realized he didn't know the name of despite having seen for years.

"What's her name?"

"Hope," Antonius told him and the dog opened her big brown eyes, wagging the long tail lazily and Antonius scratched her behind the ears that she leaned to as if she enjoyed it, "That's right, you're Hope and you're a good girl. Yes, you are."

"Nice name."

"I didn't name her, Marius did. She was his dog, he gave her to me to try help me when Orous said stroking his dogs helped with his soul being broken."

"Right," Scorpius nodded and reached over to pet her as well briefly before leaning back, not sure what he wanted to say but he didn't like seeing Antonius upset, "So erm... You know you can... can err... talk to me about anything... right?"

"My Dad said the exact same thing, complete with erms," Antonius said and Scorpius felt himself blush, he'd have to try not to do that.

"Well it's true. Have you... Have you tried talking to him about whatever's bothering you?"

"No," Antonius scoffed as if the suggestion was horrifying.

"Do you... Do you feel like talking to me?"

"No."

"May-Maybe I could help?" Scorpius offered nervously, for the thousandth time wishing he had better skills at comforting people.

"No!" Antonius snapped and finally looked at him, "It's not a problem that can be fixed, I'm _the_ problem and I just have to live with it."

"Sometimes talking about things helps," Scorpius pointed out gently, slightly confused but wanting to help him anyway.

"No, it doesn't. Whining and crying over things doesn't make them better or change anything," Antonius insisted seriously and Scorpius was trying to think of something to say to that when the younger boy spoke again, "Did you still want to help me practice magic?"

"Err... Sure," Scorpius agreed and Antonius whipped out his wand in readiness.

It dawned on him that Antonius was just trying to change the subject but he decided to just go along with it anyway, he couldn't force Antonius to talk. Antonius demonstrated what he could do first on a dummy that appeared thanks to the magic of the Room That Doesn't Exist, he'd surprisingly already mastered almost three spells. He was capable of the Wand-Lighting Charm, the Disarming Charm now and was working on the Fully Body-Bind Curse as Antonius deemed Defense Against the Dark Arts the most important area in war and were the focus of his learning. Scorpius also realized he knew absolutely nothing about how to teach Antonius magic so he just watched while the boy cast the curse on the dummy, offering any advice he remembered receiving on it. Antonius mostly seemed to have got it anyway, just sometimes an arm or a leg didn't quite stick. It would be easier if he practiced on a person but considering he also couldn't do the counter spell, Scorpius was reluctant to suggest using it on himself lest he be stuck that way. On the bright side, Antonius did seem to cheer up a bit though or at least it took the focus off whatever was bothering him.

It wasn't long before they had to head down to the Great Hall though and Antonius went to go sit at the staff table with his father and sister while Scorpius... sat alone, Abby had apparently opted to skip dinner. He hoped she'd be alright, Albus would probably have 'fallen in love' with someone else by the start of November on Wednesday. Calderon also wasn't in his room the next morning and as he had to spend most of the day in the Room That Doesn't Exist while Maurice took his final detention, he didn't get to try again until the evening before dinner. Maurice was still on about Carver being a Shadow but Scorpius didn't buy it. Just because someone was a jerk, it didn't make them a Shadow as he had learned with Grant. Besides, Carver had shown remorse for things in the past like trying to give a Latimer a get well card and good wishes after his suicide attempt so there was some glimmer of good in him somewhere and he had no scars like Maurice did.

He shoved it out of his head as he focused on speaking to Calderon. He had almost expected Calderon to be gone again but to his knock was greeted by an enthusiastic grin as the door opened, his cousin pulled him into a hug. Calderon hadn't changed since last year, he was still tall and lanky with neat night black hair and dark eyes set on an incredibly pale but handsome face despite the faint scars on his cheeks. He had the same worn jeans, sneakers and a thin sweater - navy today - as usual complete with the silver dragon necklace Scorpius had given as gift hanging around his neck. Scorpius returned the optimistic smile he also felt a pang of guilt. He hadn't seen him yet that year, he'd been busy but now he needed something he'd shown up and was probably going to ruin the assistant's high spirits by dredging up the past. But still, finding out the identity of Voldemort's son was majorly important. He could make it up to Calderon later. For now, he just had to find out what Calderon knew.

"Scor! Long time, no see," Calderon pointed out brightly.

"Yeah, I'm sorry," Scorpius apologized, "Can I come in? I wanted to talk to you."

"Sure," Calderon agreed and led him into his already opened room that was looking a bit more homely now, "And it's alright, I know Fifth Year can be pretty hectic and I've been busy myself. Rutherford works me like a dog. Sometimes I think he thinks I actually _am_ a dog, the way he snaps his fingers at me."

"You could always _not_ do it. He should treat you with respect."

"It's my job, he doesn't need to respect me. He's the master and I'm not," Calderon explained and Scorpius was about to try pointing out that the world didn't really work like that in terms of 'masters' and regardless, he still deserved to be treated with respect. But he stopped as something occurred to him.

"The Death Eaters who tortured you made the others think like that too, didn't they?" Scorpius guessed and Calderon's blazed red as his body jolted fearfully, shuddering as if at bad memories but Scorpius had to know, "About the masters and not. That's why the Shadow Master calls themselves that, they wanted to be a master."

"I don't know," Calderon said quietly with a shrug as his lights rippled in the air, his flinty eyes now staring off into space, "You'd have to ask them."

"I need to know the names of the people who tortured Varanian and killed his family," Scorpius decided to cut to the chase and Calderon looked back to him in confusion.

"Is this about your Grandfather?"

"No, my Grandfather had nothing-" Scorpius started to say but stopped himself as a sick feeling flooded through him, "My Grandfather was one of the Death Eaters, wasn't he?"

"Yes," Calderon admitted.

Despite having expected it since Calderon had mentioned him - why would he if he hadn't been involved? - Scorpius still felt a wave of guilt flood him, he sat down on one of the couches and rubbed his head. Remembering the memory he'd seen of Varanian horrifically burned and the memories he'd experienced yesterday, the unbearable pain as he lay paralyzed in bed and the anguish as his beloved wife died in his arms. And his grandfather had helped caused that just as he'd helped torture his _own_ nephew into sort of insanity when he was just a child, along with Shadow Master and how many other children there were like them. They'd probably killed them even since they were the only two he'd heard of with that kind of family, just like they'd killed Varanian's young children who Scorpius guiltily realized he didn't know the names of.

His grandfather had destroyed lives, destroyed lives of people Scorpius cared about. Had his grandfather ever cared? Ever felt guilty for the things he'd done? The pain he'd caused? The lives he'd taken? The lives he'd ruined? How had he been able to face Varanian - even if Varanian was possessed at the time - and act like he'd done nothing to him? How had he been able to face his own nephew and deny even remembering him after what he'd done to him? Who else's lives had his grandfather ruined that Scorpius cared about? He didn't feel angry, he just felt hurt and guilt for the crimes of his family. It was no wonder the Malfoys had a bad reputation, Scorpius had bad blood running through his veins. He tried to shove his emotions aside, he needed to focus on finding out who the Shadow Master was from Calderon. It wasn't like he should be surprised, not a lot of people knew about the likes of Calderon or the son of Voldemort so they'd have to bring those who did like his grandfather. Something else clicked in his mind as he thought that, who else did he know knew?

"Brutus Ashain was another wasn't he?" Scorpius asked, looking back up and Calderon closed his mouth. Scorpius hoped he'd just been about to say something and not that he'd zoned out and completely ignored everything, Calderon nodded, "Rabastan and Rodolphus Lestrange too? People who knew about you."

"Yes," Calderon confirmed and sat down opposite him, his lights flickering a murky purple.

"You might as well me the others now since I practically already know them," Scorpius prompted, hoping he'd mention his companion's name.

"Rathan Loren and Maverick Selwyn," Calderon sighed with reluctance as his eyes bored into the ground guiltily, the lights continued shimmering around him, "Half of them are dead now and half of them are Soul Eaters now. Rodolphus and Selwyn were the ones who tortured and killed though, Rabastan and Lucius were on guard duty so mostly Lucius just dragged me into another room to torture me for being disobedient, Brutus had to heal them when they got too badly hurt and Loren just had to keep the one not being tortured restrained."

"Rathan Loren as in Alzay's father? Maurice and Orous' grandfather?" Scorpius wondered as he recognized the name.

"The very same."

"Huh," Scorpius muttered and waited a second to see if Calderon was going to name the other boy but he just sat staring off idly, "There was another person there, wasn't there?"

"There were three Dementors," Calderon offered in scarcely a whisper.

"I meant a person," Scorpius told him specifically and seriously but oddly quietly, Calderon raised his head and met his eyes, "A child like you, who was also under guard. The one shot the Killing Curse from his hand and murdered Ethel. That's the child who went on to be the Shadow Master, that's the child who is Voldemort's son. That's the one we need to kill. Who was it, Marius?"

"No!" Calderon yelped as he jumped up abruptly, walking away while he dug his nails into his scalp and lights flared in a swirl around him, flashing red.

"I know it's hard to believe but its true!" Scorpius insisted desperately as he also got to his feet and the tempo of the lights only increased, "I know you may feel like he's your friend after everything you went through but it was a lie! I _know_ you saw him kill her!"

"No!" Calderon yelled again over the increasing whoosh of the lights, Scorpius felt light a fierce wind was shooting through the room.

"He never cared about you, he was just using you for information about the Specters! He's destroying the world now and you're the only one who knows who he is!" Scorpius pressed on determinedly, he had to find out to stop him. He _had_ to, "You have to tell me who he is! He's not a person, he's Voldemort's son! He's a monster!"

"NO!"

Calderon screamed painfully high-pitched and practically doubled over as his nails tore into his skull, lights exploded around him and Scorpius was flung violently back against the wall. That was nothing compared to what was happening to the rest of the room though, every single thing was spinning around the room like it was caught it in hurricane with Calderon untouched in the center. Tendrils of light were shooting out at random from him, like lightning that tore through the things circling him rapidly if it didn't obliterate them on impact. Deafening cracking sounds radiated around him as the tendrils touched the walls, floors and ceiling, ripping through everything it touched and leaving scorched caverns engraved into the stone.

Scorpius tried to call out to him to calm down - even though he didn't think it would do much at this point - but he could barely hear his own voice over the chaotic noise, he was forced to curl his body up as small as possible to avoid the chance of the lightning touching him. He heard Calderon laugh suddenly, his shrill, demented laugh several pitches higher than his voice and the laugh became another shrill scream. He fell to his knees and the ruins of his things dropped around him, silence fell with them and the lightning turning to gentle rolling golden waves that only carried a gentle breeze. Calderon dropped to his side and curled up into the fetal position, still gripping his head in his hands. Scorpius felt a pang of guilt, he'd pushed too hard.

"Anyone want to dance with the shadows? Anyone dare to take on the night? Can you stay sane as you stare down their gaze? Do you still want to do what is right? You'll lose your soul if you let them take hold, Never again shall you walk in the light," Calderon started to say to himself and Scorpius went over to him, "So that's how you do it. I think I can unbind Shadows - or Specters - and bind them to myself, I can become the Shadow Master. What is wrong with you? You want to be a master, you want to take over the world or something, you killed that woman and you started that fire to burn Varanian alive. So what? Being a master is better than being nothing. Than being tortured, then being worthless, then being treated like dirt. W-"

"Marius?" Scorpius said his name quietly as he reached his cousin and his dark eyes flickered open but didn't move to look at him, Calderon's face was streaked with tears and there was blood on his fingers from digging his nails into his head.

"Do you want to be a squib like Marius? Is that what you want?" Calderon continued babbling as if he hadn't noticed Scorpius was there, Scorpius reached out and gently pried Calderon's hands away from his head, "Worthless. So worthless. Why can't you just do magic? Why do you have to such a failure? If you were my son then you wouldn't be a failure but you're not and you are a failure. I'd rather be a failure then your son. You just earned a beating. I'm sorry, please. Shut up, begging is pathetic. You're pathetic."

"Calderon?" Scorpius prompted again, trying to snap him out of it as he whimpered and tried to curl further into a ball. He had no idea what to do though, what did you do when someone had a mental breakdown?

"What's your name? My name? Yes, if you're going to work here then I need to know your name. Calderon. My name is Calderon. Marius. Marius Calderon. That's my name," Calderon continued and fresh tears squeezed from his eyes as he shut them, shaking his head, "It's not really. It's not really my name. It's a lie! I'm a lie! It wasn't even Calderon, it was Cauldron. I couldn't read right! I couldn't. But I still think Calderon sounds cooler, I told Brutus. No! I don't ever feel like kissing Brutus, why would you destroy his soul?! He's good to us, he's good. I'M NOT MARIUS!"

"Tommy?" Scorpius offered worriedly at the delusional rant and Calderon's eyes snapped open immediately.

"That's right, Tommy, that's your name. Good boy. That's a good boy. Tommy. Tommy," Calderon rambled but his eyes circled around and finally seemed to notice he wasn't the only one there as he saw Scorpius, he tried to sit up and Scorpius helped him too.

"Are you okay?" Scorpius asked in complete absence of having any idea what to and Calderon looked at him as if he'd never seen him before, he then burst into tears, "I-I'm sorry, please, its okay?"

"I want to be a person!" Calderon sobbed as he buried his face into his hands, "I wanted to be a person. I wanted to be a person. I wanted to be a good person. They made me this way, they made me like this. I don't want to be like this. I want to be a person, a real person."

"You-You are a person," Scorpius told him as he gently patted Calderon's shoulder, wishing again that he was any good at comforting people or not sending them into mental breakdowns. How did you comfort someone having a mental breakdown anyway? Nothing Calderon was saying was making any sense, "It's alright."

"My name is Tommy. That was my name, that _is_ my name. I'm _Tommy_. I'm Tommy. I _am_ Tommy."

"Okay, you're Tommy. I know you're Tommy," Scorpius said gently and Calderon looked back up to him, staring at him for a minute before shaking his head and descending back into sobs.

"No you don't! No one does," Calderon cried hopelessly as he buried his head back into his hands, rocking his body back and forth, "I don't know. I don't know anymore."

"Well I erm... it..."

Scorpius decided it was really hard to comfort someone when he had no idea what was wrong, he had no idea what to say to his cousin or even if Calderon was truly grasping what was being said. Guiltily he recalled Calderon's smile when he'd seen him and now the assistant was a sobbing wreck, even his room was ravaged now. At a loss for words, Scorpius just hugged him. Calderon stopped crying immediately and hugged him back slowly, taking deep calming breaths as he did so. Finally, he pulled away and stood on shaky legs as he surveyed the destruction of his room while Scorpius scrambled up after him.

"I'm really sorry," Scorpius apologized sincerely, "I didn't mean-"

"I know," Calderon cut him off, "I erm... I just want to be alone now, Scor, okay? I need to fix this."

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'll be fine."

"Ok-Okay then," Scorpius nodded and Calderon didn't look back to him as he left.

* * *

**Part 3: **First Match

* * *

_Tommy was true to his word and started attempting to communicate with the newly named One, it seemed rather futile at first. Saying things to it in both English and Parseltongue got him nowhere, it remained gazing at him vacantly and he started wondering whether it even could hear. He tended to try at night when their mother slept or when she was too lost to the Dementor's magic to notice things, for months he and Sal would sit and talk to it. Asking it questions, telling it about themselves, sharing things their mother had said and asking its opinion, giving plenty of lengthy pauses for it answer but it never did._

_It wasn't until one night he just sat back and wished in frustration at his failure to speak to it that something changed, it shot from his shadow and jumped into him. He felt an impossible feeling of cold chilling him through his flesh, through his bones, through his very soul and for one instant of raw terror, he thought it was going to take his soul too. He felt his heart thundering so forcefully inside his chest that he thought it would explode, he gripped his head with shaking hands while tears erupted from his eyes._

_"I'm going to die," Tommy breathed in terror, wishing his mother wasn't sleeping as images started drowning his thoughts. Prisoners in agony, souls been torn to shreds and he... he knew One was urging him to cause those things, he could feel the Shadow's desire, feel its hunger._

_"No," Sal told him forcefully and pulled him to face her, latching him back to reality as her identical eyes met his but they were hard as flint not bubbling with tears and it gave him strength, "No, you're not. Shadows follow you, you're the master, you own them, you control. You tell it that, you tell it that it's not allowed to kill you."_

_Don't hurt me, One, Tommy pleaded inside his mind, over and over for what felt like forever. Nothing happened though, his soul wasn't torn to shreds and the images stopped but it didn't leave._

_"Is it working?" Sal asked him in a whisper, sounding as if she was afraid to hope._

_"Well it's not killing me," Tommy confirmed, feeling his heartbeat slowing as his panic receded, "I don't think it's trying to hurt me."_

_"Then what it is it doing?"_

_"Trying to communicate with me, I think. But I don't understand why it couldn't just do this when I was talking to it."_

_"Maybe it can't," Sal guessed, "It doesn't have a mouth, maybe it can only talk to you if it's sharing its body with you?"_

_Tommy felt a strange surge inside his mind, a sense of... correctness?_

_"I think One thinks you're right," Tommy admitted hesitantly and the feeling increased, "Can you speak, One?"_

_"Can it?" Sal wondered curiously._

_"I don't know, I'm waiting," Tommy shushed her and they waited, standing frozen in the midst of night. And finally he heard it, a long drawn out, rattling rasp as if using words were alien to it. It was far back in the recesses of his mind that he heard it, every syllable seemed to make his mind feel numb with impossible cold but it spoke a single word._

_...One..._

* * *

Calderon lay on his bed, letting blue raindrops of light cascade down in his room. He'd repaired as much as he could from the smithereens, maybe all of it, maybe not. He'd just wanted to lie down and cry so he hadn't really paid attention, now he was done crying and just listening to the sound of the synthetic rain in his misery. He was calm now though. Scor had struck several nerves, he supposed he should be glad that he'd snapped instead of having to deal with his cousin's questions but he wasn't. Being insane and snapping wasn't something he was proud of, he needed to be able to deal with these things.

_"He's not a person, he's Voldemort's son! He's a monster!"_

Scor's words continued to echo in his head, Scor hadn't realized it but he was talking about Calderon himself. Or Tommy. Or whoever he was now. He didn't know anymore, he was sick of pretending. He knew he was a monster though, it was his fault. The whole war was his fault. The chaos being caused was all on him, the deaths, the pain, the suffering. It was all on him. He had created One, he had bound Shadows to him and unearthed that whole nightmare. And that very night that Scor was pressuring him about, that was the night he'd bound them to Sal instead. He'd _made_ her the Shadow Master, he'd caused it all. He wanted to take it back, he wanted the Shadows to be gone, he wanted the war to be over and he even wanted to help so badly. His instinct was to help, to stop people suffering and dying, he liked knowing good things existed in the world even if he could never be a part of it, he liked seeing people happy, he liked helping. And yet, he couldn't. How could he turn on his twin?

_"We'll always be together though, won't we Tommy?"_

The memory brought fresh tears to his eyes, his sister's words. No matter what she'd done, she was still his twin and he still loved her. How could he turn on his only sister? The person who'd been there since birth, by his side all through Azkaban, all through their Death Eater captivity. That was the first thing he thought of when he thought of his sister, the good not the bad. They'd always been together, always looked out for each other, always. Sal had always been the strong one, he didn't even know if he could've survived all that without her. And now? Ticcy was right, it would be easier if she was as sociopathic as the media assumed. It hurt so much to think of what she'd become, what he'd made her, what they'd made her. He wanted to protect the world but he wanted to protect his sister too, he wanted to stop her, he wanted to save her. He didn't know what to do, Sal was always the one who knew what to do. If their positions were reversed then she'd know, she'd know how to snap him out of it and save him and the world from himself. He missed her.

"Calderon?" Scor's voice called abruptly and he heard a knock on the door, "Are you there? I just wanted to make sure you're okay after yesterday."

Calderon froze and his magic became silent ripples around him, he was almost afraid to breathe lest it alert Scor to his presence. He didn't want to speak to his cousin, he was afraid of being questioned again and having another breakdown. He didn't want to remember, thinking about it tore his heart up inside so much that it actually hurt. So he stayed silent and pretended he wasn't there, he heard Scor's sigh and footsteps indicating he'd left. And if it was tomorrow now apparently then he had to work to do, he needed to focus or Rutherford be mad at him. And Rutherford scared him slightly. He dragged himself out of bed and sighed as he headed down to see what Rutherford wanted him to do today, he hoped it was to crawl into a hole and die because that was all he felt like doing right then. He trudged along with his head hung low, blue lights flickering around him to reflect his abysmal mood. He wondered if he was allowed to pretend to be sick.

"About bloody time," Rutherford spat the second he opened the door to the attaché's room, he snapped his fingers and gestured to the stack of papers on his desk, "I want that copied delivered to every member of staff, to be filled out and returned to me ASAP."

"Yes, Master," Calderon nodded obediently as he wandered over to obey.

He almost froze in fear that the attaché would notice the slip of his tongue but he was already going back to whatever he was writing, he wished Rutherford didn't remind him of Rodolphus so much. They looked vaguely similar but mostly it was how he acted, both had a restfulness about them as if they struggled with keeping still because there was an anger inside them waiting to explode. Rutherford at least seemed to have a grip on his anger and hadn't attacked him, he also thought Rutherford was somewhat more intelligent. Still he was reminded though and Rodolphus had given him enough painful memories to make him uncomfortable around the attaché, wreck his confidence whenever he was around the guy. He picked up the paper he had to copy and saw it was some kind of questionnaire.

_Q1: Can you cast a Patronus Charm? If yes, give details on what kind and how well you can cast it. If no, give reasons for not learning it._

_Q2: Are you an Occlumens? If yes, give details on what kind of training you've had and how well you can use it._

_Q3: Are you -_

"Oi! I said copy and deliver not read it," Rutherford said as he snapped his fingers again, drawing Calderon's attention away from reading the rest of it, "It's a questionnaire to gauge the defensive capabilities of the staff here, I want you to fill one out too when you're done doing what I asked."

"Yes, Sir," Calderon nodded, pleased he at least didn't make a mistake that time and went to obey but Rutherford stopped him with another snap of his fingers.

"I wasn't done!" Rutherford insisted and Calderon turned back to him but kept his eyes on the ground, "I also need you to get Elwood to sign off on it, tell him I want him to make it mandatory."

"Yes, Sir," Calderon nodded again and Rutherford again snapped his fingers sharply, making him look up.

"How many times have I told you to look at me when I'm talking to you?!" Rutherford complained before being distracted by the dog bounding over to him, Hope managed to tug the edges of Calderon's mouth to a very weak smile as she enthusiastically reached Rutherford and started drooling over his knees, "What is the meaning of this?!"

"Hope!" Antonius called as he ran in and pulled Hope back, Calderon petted her affectionately and she wagged her tail happily.

"Keep better bloody control your mutt!" Rutherford snapped angrily, glaring at the boy.

"I'm sorry, Sir, she's just been trained to come when she hears someone snap their fingers," Antonius explained, meeting the attaché's gaze quite calmly, "Maybe you shouldn't snap your fingers at someone like they're a dog if you don't like dogs coming to you."

"Just keep your dog under control or else."

"Or else what, Sir?" Antonius asked in the same overly innocent tone, "I'm not yet a Hogwarts student therefore not your responsibility, you have no power to punish or expel me or my dog from these grounds. Wasn't that what you said, Sir?"

"No one likes a smart mouth, kid."

"I wasn't trying to make you like me, Sir."

"Well maybe you should because someday you _will_ be a Hogwarts student and then you will be my responsibility, I will have the power to punish you or expel you and that dog from these grounds," Rutherford growled threateningly but Antonius didn't give any indication he was afraid, "So you should do well to remember that."

"Since I live in Hogwarts with my Father regardless, what difference would expelling me and my dog make really, Sir?" Antonius countered calmly and Rutherford's jaw twitched.

"I'm sorry, sometimes I forget you live here. It's just most children weren't abandoned by their mothers for being insolent little bastards," Rutherford said finally and hurt flickered in Antonius' eyes as he averted them finally, Rutherford smirked, "What, no comeback? If you can't handle the game then don't play, kid. Now, shouldn't you be going to breakfast? Wouldn't want to keep your Father waiting, unless of course you _want _to be parentless."

"That was mean," Calderon pointed out quietly as Antonius left with Hope without another word, Rutherford gave a derisive snort.

"Kid had it coming, Ashain needs to keep a tighter rein on those little brats. If I spoke to an adult with as much disrespect as he did when I was his age then my Father would've given me such a thrashing I wouldn't be able to sit for a month," Rutherford insisted with a shake of his head before snapping his fingers and turned to anger so fast that Calderon leaped in fear, "Now get to bloody work! I have other stuff for you to do after you've done that."

"Yes, Sir," Calderon agreed meekly before heading off, making a mental note to buy something Antonius something cool for Christmas to cheer the poor boy up. At least working would take his mind off things, he hoped. Or maybe wished.

* * *

Scorpius found himself unhappy following his conversation with Calderon, he tried checking on him to make sure he was alright the following day but Calderon hadn't been in. He hadn't been in any of the other times he tried to check on him over the following two weeks, he wasn't sure whether he just had bad timing or whether Calderon just didn't like him anymore. He'd just wanted to identify the Shadow Master, he hadn't meant or wanted to destroy his relationship with his cousin. Or maybe he was just overreacting and Calderon was busy as he'd mentioned being, that was certainly going around.

Rose was angry with Maurice for losing so many house points or possibly as a cover that he was still dating Lenore, Abby was upset about Albus dating Grozda, Albus was angry at Orous for dating his sister, Orous was upset that Albus was angry with him but didn't want to give up Lily, Maurice was angry that no one believed his Shadow Carver theory. Albus was also very happy to be dating Grozda, he talked about her constantly and how she was his soul mate which only got worse after his picnic date with her the next weekend. Scorpius was happy for him but he also thought he could be just as happy with Abby, who either hung her head quietly or started feeling unwell and left when Albus would start going on about Grozda.

Albus sent her gifts of flowers, chocolates and poetry frequently to the point that Scorpius started to feel like he was an extremely bad boyfriend, he didn't surprise Molly with gifts like that. They barely spent any time together unless it was Quidditch practice either, which became daily in the week leading up to the match. Molly and Latimer - and Lenore for that matter - were drowning in NEWT work just as they were buried in OWL work, Molly worried and stressed about it though whereas he didn't, even when they studied together she was so focused that they didn't get to say much. He made a mental note to try do something special and romantic to take her mind off it after the match was over with anyway, she was nervous about going up against a team captained by Krum's daughter especially with the change in players and there was no distracting her with Quidditch was involved. He didn't mind, it gave him time to try think of something special and romantic to do. He wished he was Albus, even if things Albus said or did sounded cheesy, at least he could think of things.

Albus did send off the letter to his father though, they still had to wait for the letter to arrive then for Harry to contact Egypt about Akram then for Harry to get the information from then and then for Varanian to get it from Harry. He ringed Varanian to let him know the letter had been sent, he didn't hear back until the end of the first week were Varanian said Harry was trying to get the information for Egypt. He warned it could take a while, international relations weren't the fastest even if the Shadows weren't still decimating Greece. Scorpius hadn't heard back from him by the time it was the Gryffindor versus Slytherin match two weeks after Hogsmeade, Albus' focus shifted to being terrified about the match.

It was a cold day for a Quidditch match although it was dry, the wind had an icy touch just walking to the changing rooms and he knew it would be worse when they got up in the air. It was strange having Albus and Carver there instead of Caitlin and Freddie, in fact it was his first match without 'Fast' Freddie Weasley. Not that anyone called him that except himself. Scorpius found himself missing the jovial banter, his friends weren't much to talk to before a game. Latimer went quiet and focused, Michael was still a barrel of nerves who had lost his breakfast yet again because of it and now Albus sat there wide-eyed shaking from nerves with every shred of his former optimism gone. James wasn't nervous but they were hardly friends, Carver was though and paced restlessly while his face remained ingrained with worry. Molly, he realized, was the only girl on the team now who wasn't a reserve. She cleared her throat to get their attention.

"So this is the beginning of the end for me, the first match of my final year and the very last time I'll play Slytherin. Some of you will have following years to play, some of you will only have this one, some of you have been here before and for some of you this is new. I know some of you are nervous, all of you probably to some degree and you may be intimidated by the fact we're playing a team led by the daughter of the famous Viktor Krum but don't be. I was chosen to be Captain when I was just fourteen, when I was younger then every single person in this room is now and no one thought we had a chance. None at all, not even our own house thought we could win. But we did, we won the match and we won the cup and we proved them all wrong. If we could win then, in that darkest hour of doubt then this... this is nothing," Molly gave her speech and paused to gesture vaguely at the door, "We're a great team and we're_ Gryffindors_! I'm not afraid for us, I'm afraid for _them_."

"For once I'm with you, Molly," James said with a grin as he slung his bat over his shoulder, "Let's beat those snakes."

"Yeah! Just don't break their spines."

"Got it," James nodded testily as they went to move out, the team looking somewhat less nervous and more confident at least.

"Good speech," Scorpius offered as he took his place beside Molly, she turned to smile at him and he pressed his lips against hers.

"Let's just hope I don't have another premonition and fall off my broom," Molly muttered after they pulled apart.

They headed out to the pitch on cue to the roar of the crowd, Albus taking deep breaths as if trying to stay calm. The elder Krum watched the younger shake hands with Molly before they took to the skies, Scorpius wondered how James - who would be the most likely candidate for Captain - would deal with having to shake a Slytherin's hand. Krum through the Quaffle into the air and the match shot off to a fast paced start, Michael grabbed it first but it was tackled away by Grozda - who seemed to have planned for that from the start - who darted up the pitch. Latimer tried to get the Quaffle from her but she pre-emptively tossed it to a teammate, who threw it back as soon as Latimer stopped to go after her instead. Grozda threw the Quaffle with ferocious accuracy at the hoops, only for Molly to make a spectacular save.

Scorpius was glad his job was the Snitch, Grozda was a demon on a broom. The Slytherin team had taken a definite improvement under her leadership, they were fast and effective. The Slytherin Keeper definitely seemed the weakest link but they put so much effort into keeping the Quaffle that it didn't seem to matter so much, everyone seemed to be giving it their all on both sides. The Quaffle was flying so fast between teams and people that Scorpius had trouble keeping up, it was like one of those muggle pinball things. Albus was noticeable slower and less fluid on a broom then everyone else out there, it was always his basic broom skills that were bad not his Chaser skills and here it played to their advantage. The dip in speed threw Slytherin off constantly while he could still throw and pass effectively which Gryffindor were used to, more saves were caused by the Slytherins getting the Quaffle back then the Keeper.

Molly on the other hand was also pushed, yo-yoing around the hoops to bat away the ball. Usually Keepers tended to get a lull when the Quaffle was on the other side of the pitch, however things were moving so fast today that she - and the other Keeper - barely had time to breathe before they were back on their toes with the Quaffle in their court. The Slytherin Beaters were also good, they had impeccable aim which really put the Gryffindor's dodging skills to the test and threw them off. James and Carver were probably better, their aim was maybe a little sloppier but they were harder hitters and worked as a team to also make life difficult for the Slytherins. The Bludgers never stopped, one of the four was always on it to the point it seemed like a warzone down there. It was intense, it made Scorpius feel almost useless hovering around away from it all looking for the Snitch. Whenever he - or the other Seeker - did see it, the chaotic action made it easy to lose and diving for it also turned the Bludgers on them. Scorpius would have to think of something else.

The next time he saw the Snitch hovering low beneath the action, he deliberately didn't dive for it but instead dove at a different place. The Slytherin Seeker followed, assuming he was diving for the real thing if he couldn't see it and they both had to dodge the pelting Bludgers like bullets on them before he stopped on the same level as if it had gotten away. The Beaters went back to trying to stop the Chasers, the other Seeker started to climb back up to search again and only then did Scorpius make a beeline for the Snitch. Like a shot out of a cannon, he darted towards it and scooped it up before anyone besides the commentator had realized what was happening. He gripped the golden ball in relief, he wanted Molly to go out on a win.

"And Malfoy has the Snitch! Gryffindor wins, 180 to 20!" the girl commentator's voice announced to the crowd and the exhausted players landed around him, everyone breathing heavily, "What a terrific way to start the season, incredible playing from both Gryffindor and Slytherin there! We're in for an interesting year."

* * *

**Part 4: **Trying to Advise

* * *

"_Expecto Patronum!_" Annie cried in the basement of Varanian's hideout but yet again, nothing happened, "Can we move on to a spell that's actually possible now? Go back outside and do duelly stuff, I don't care about the rain."

"No, its important spell and you need to learn it," Varanian insisted stubbornly, she rolled her eyes and went to pick up the beer bottle on the table but he grabbed it first and moved it away, "You can drink when you've made some progress on the spell, alcohol only impedes your ability to do magic."

"I disagree. Look, _Lumos_," Annie flourished her wand by her face again, it lit up obediently but was again on level with her eyes and she had to jerk her wand away and blink a few times. He shook his head in amusement, "Oh quiet, you."

"You're the only person I know who constantly casts it in front of your face, do you not notice the blinding light?"

"I notice the blinding light! I just find it easier to hold the wand like that," Annie protested and flicked it yet again, "_Nox_. But you see, I _can_ do magic. Just not magic that's completely impossible."

"It's not impossible, it's just more advanced."

"Well I'm not advanced, I'm a moron so lower your standards."

"You're not a moron, you just need to focus," Varanian told her and she reached for the beer again, he moved it further away and she scowled at him, "And to not drink."

"I'm doing those things and I'm still failing!" Annie pointed out irritably as she fingered the handle of her wand, "I'm focusing the best I can and you keep taking my drink."

"You haven't been at it long, you just need to give it more time. It's an important spell and you to need to learn, it's the only thing to repel Specters. So try again. And just out of curiosity, what memory are you using?"

"Being drunk."

"You can't use that!" Varanian burst out incredulously and she rolled her eyes, "I said a happy memory, something meaningful and genuinely happy."

"Well I got nothing like that."

"I find it hard to believe you can't think of a single good memory, not of your family or anything? From when you were young maybe?"

"They're all just tainted by parents' deaths. It doesn't make me happy to think of the good times, it makes me bitterly unhappy in fact. "

"Fair enough," Varanian sighed, he could relate to that although he had found it eased with time. Somewhat. Eventually. Unless something dredged up painful memories, "Your nephew then? You two seen close."

"Please, I was a crummy aunt to him," Annie scoffed and snatched the beer bottle up before he could stop her, "I read him medical textbooks as a child and didn't notice his stepdad was beating him up, I ruined his life. Where are the good memories there?"

"Well the emotion matters more than the memory, focus on feeling positive emotion. Happiness, love, friendship, that kind of thing. You-"

"How the fuck do I do that?" Annie wondered incredulously as she took a long swing from the bottle, "I'm not a happy sappy lovey dovey type of person."

"You don't have to be, you just need to focus on it for this one thing," Varanian said and resisted the urge to sigh, it was always easy to tell which kinds of spells she preferred by how restless and uncooperative she got. He was sure she'd do better with magic if she didn't drink so much too. Or at all. And it would be better for her health too. He was having no luck getting her to stop though.

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something."

"You just want to get out of practicing the Patronus Charm."

"Well yeah but that doesn't mean this isn't something serious," Annie insisted and grabbed a chair, swiveling it around to sit on it backwards facing him. She couldn't just sit on a chair like a normal person, it amused him. She sipped her beer and drummed the fingers of her free hand on the back of the chair.

"That difficult to come up with some imaginary problem?" Varanian quipped mockingly and she threw a scowl about.

"I'm just trying to think of how to start, it's about my brother."

"The jackass who gave you a black eye?"

"Yeah, him," Annie confirmed with a nod, "And for the record, that's nothing, when I was thirteen I had a foster brother with major anger management issues. One time I set him off and he ended up cracking my head open, I had to have surgery to wire my skull back together."

"That's horrible," Varanian pointed out in shock and Annie blinked at him in surprise, "I'm sorry."

"It sucked. But I got better. Still have a scar though. But my hair hides that. It's why I got interested in medicine though," Annie told him with a shrug and took another swig, "But it's not my point. You know how PAW were wiped out?"

"Yeah."

"I think my brother might've done it."

"Any particular reason why?" Varanian wondered dubiously but curiously, "We know it was something to do with the Specter, One."

"I know. Michael was actually the one who noticed it, he told me when he was here."

"And you thought you'd wait two weeks?"

"I needed to think about it and you seemed kinda preoccupied anyway," Annie offered as she took another sip, "But on the bright side, I am _really_ good at spells that heal cracks now."

"Okay. So why do you both think he went from jackass to serial killer?"

"The members who didn't die from when the building exploded all died from heart attacks from what you've found out and PAW tried to kill Michael so he had motive to want them gone. Four more people who wronged Michael all also died from heart attacks over the past year suddenly and I've looked into the medical reports, it's more like their bodies just stopped working then the normal signs of heart attack. And just after Michael said that, the driver responsible for my mother's death also suddenly died and it's the same as the other four. It's a pretty weird coincidence people Jack wants dead are dropping like leaves for no apparent reason," Annie elaborated, sounding unusually serious, "Specters feed off pain right? From killing people?"

"Well from destroying the souls, which kills people."

"What if Jack's made some kind of deal with One and he's setting him on people he hates? A Specter could easily slip in unnoticed and kill them without leaving a trace like that. Jack's been acting strange lately, talking to himself and seeming to suddenly be around or gone without using the doors. One could be teleporting him because they can do that maybe and talking to himself could easily just be him talking to One. The reason he punched me is because I was asking him about his weird behavior, he could've freaked I figured it out."

"It's plausible," Varanian admitted hesitantly, "It could explain the deaths and behavior _but_ what could the Specter possibly want from your brother?"

"Maybe it needs a new host to be free from the Shadow Master? They seem parasitic from I know of them."

"Possibly but John-"

"Jack."

"-Jack's a muggle. Marius said its power that severs them from the Dementors, presumably you'd need power to sever it from the Shadow Master and he wouldn't have any. Nor would One. Unless there's some other way to sever them that we don't know about," Varanian mused and sighed, "Which wouldn't surprise me, we don't know enough about these damn things."

"So what do we do?" Annie pressed, looking at him in askance and her concern shone through in her brilliant blue eyes.

"Nothing until we know for sure, when we break into the Ministry to get the information Potter's waiting on for Akram we can also look at the reports for those confirmed to have been killed by Specters. If they show the same signs you mention then we'll know there's a definite connection there, Wyatt or Aurelius can follow him since they're less likely to be noticed by a Specter since they seem only interested in human life not animals like they'll be in their animagi forms," Varanian decided, there really wasn't anything to do until they knew anything definitively. If John was in cahoots with One, if he was then if it was willing or not, "We'll see where it goes from there."

"Fair enough," Annie nodded and let out a breath he hadn't realized she'd been holding, she took another swig from her bottle of beer before grinning, "So does that mean I get to break into the Ministry of Magic too?"

"No, it's too dangerous. You can just tell Wyatt what you want him to look for."

"He's not going to be able to look for what I want, that won't- Wait, what _is_ your plan?" Annie changed her mind mid-sentence, "I can't criticize it until I know what it is."

"Once the files arrive from Egypt, Wyatt is going to sneak into the Ministry undetected as a lizard and get to Potter's office. While he's doing that, I show up in Diagon Alley so the Aurors will come after me and probably Shadows too but Potter should show up as well. With everyone after me, Wyatt has time to look through the files. Simple."

"Suicidal, more like. Pip, that's not going to work. It's a stupid plan."

"What's wrong with my plan?" Varanian complained irritably, "Even at night, Wyatt says there's too much foot traffic and Potter stays too late for him to be able to do it. A distraction is the best thing, it's too risky getting trapped in the Ministry but Diagon Alley is in London so close enough to draw Potter out."

"You're only just starting to walk without the cane, your muscles are regrown but still weak and will only strengthen with use over time. You're not going to be at full strength and I reckon even then you'd be hard pressed going up against Aurors and probably Shadows after you, you don't stand a chance in your current state," Annie insisted seriously and he scowled at her, "What about Dom and Aurelius? Can't you have one of them Polyjuice into you and Roman and fight instead?"

"You can't Polyjuice into a metamorphmagus and besides, I don't want them involved. The Shadows and the Aurors don't know they're on our side yet and I'd rather not risk they find out. My plan is solid, I'll be able to disapparate or Portkey away if it comes to it, I just have to buy as much time as I can. I can handle it."

"You can't escape if you're unconscious or dead or severely hurt or what if they use the Power Repressing potion on you? Assuming it doesn't kill you."

"Why would it kill me?" Varanian asked in confusion, it hadn't killed Marius or others being tested.

"Because you're a metamorphmagus, it might affect you differently. Based on what I've learned and know about it, it physically makes the victim weak as a side effect which was much more pronounced for the magic spewing Marius Calderon who is more in tune with magic clearly. Metamorphmagi are also more in tune with magic since your whole body can change magically at will, your _whole_ body is more magical then regular wizards, including major organs that shrink or grow to adapt if you change size. Maybe you'll get lucky and it works so differently that that ability is not affected but I think it's much more likely that it would have an adverse effect on you, at best probably render you essentially paralyzed and at worst inadvertently stop your organs from functioning when it stops your magic. Killing you," Annie explained, Varanian hadn't given it that much thought, "I don't know if I'm right but I'd rather not find out."

"Neither would I, I'll just make sure they don't give me any."

"Which you won't be able to help when you get overwhelmed."

"Well, what's your genius plan then? We have to draw Potter away," Varanian pointed out as Annie took another swig.

"Use Roman as bait, he's a pretty good duelist even if he's not you and they're also after him. You can be disguised as someone else to back him up or get him out of there if necessary while Wyatt and I break into the mystery to look through the files."

"You can't break into the Ministry, you're not an animagus. And Roman might stand a chance but he doesn't like leaving the hideout, I doubt he'd go for it."

"Can't I just Polyjuice into Potter while he's busy out and walk right in with Wyatt on my shoulder? And you could try asking Roman before you dismiss it, he's not nervous and terrified of anything anymore."

"No, his mind is just shot. And there's no way I'm letting you and Wyatt go into the nest of Aurors alone, if something goes wrong then Wyatt can get away easier as a lizard and he can apparate from the lobby since that's the only place not protected against apparation in the Ministry," Varanian explained as she sipped her beer unconcerned, "If anything went wrong with you there, you'd have to fight. You're just learning magic and he's just a kid, you wouldn't stand a chance against trained Aurors."

"Wyatt's not a kid, he's twenty-three and he does okay out there spying and stuff. Think of the advantages," Annie pressed, "We'd be done faster if we were both there looking together instead of just him alone, meaning Roman would have to hold them off less."

"I know that but Wyatt is good alone, not trying to protect you both. Unless he just left you to be captured which is also unacceptable, I'm not putting you at risk like that," Varanian shook his head determinedly, "If you were to go at all then I'd be the one going with you."

"Great, so let's you and I break into the Ministry while Roman and Wyatt cause the distraction. It's much healthier for you."

"No! I didn't say that," Varanian protested as she took another swig, "My original plan is better, less people are involved so less people are at risk."

"There's also less chance of success," Annie countered readily, "Or if we did succeed then you'd probably not live to see it or you'd be captured and then we'd be put at more risk trying to save you before you do get killed so really you're not doing yourself or us any favors. Sometimes in life, you have to take a risk."

"If I do get captured you people can't risk yourselves to save me."

"You're not the boss of us," Annie scoffed, "We're just several unrelated individuals with a common goal in mind but not part of a group with a leader, we can do whatever the hell we want and if we want to risk our lives or trying to save you then we can. And will."

"Roman might not even agree to be the bait," Varanian muttered irritably, not liking how rational her plan sounded. He still preferred his though, even if he wasn't at full strength then it was only himself at risk then Wyatt at the Ministry. Not Annie or Roman, who'd already been hurt the last time he was out in the field.

"I'm willing to take the risk for this, Pip, Wyatt already is and I'd bet Roman would be too if you asked him. In fact, I'm so sure he'd agree that I'll bet you for it."

"You'll bet me?"

"If he says no then I'll drop it we go with your suicidal plan and if he says yes then we go with my plan."

"Why would I agree to that?"

"Why wouldn't you agree to that?"

"Fine," Varanian agreed reluctantly, he was sure Roman would say no anyway and it would shut her up about it, "And afterwards you get back to practicing the Patronus."

"Fine," Annie agreed also reluctantly but grinned as she stood, "C'mon on then, Pip, let's go ask him. I need another drink anyway."

* * *

Maurice had been looking forward to having his weekends free again, if Hogwarts was going to have pointless days off then he didn't want to be wasting them in detentions. He was already spending every weekday teaching someone Occlumency, eating further into his free time and the time he had with Lenore. But no, he was stuck again in weekend detentions for Rutherford again for the rest of the term except this time as himself and without the attempts to penetrate his thoughts. And for what, for dueling? Wasn't the whole purpose of school to learn how to duel? It was ridiculous, if anything Rutherford should've praised their talent. That was another thing bugging him, his friends didn't take his concerns about Carver being a Shadow seriously. So what if he had no visible scars? Maurice and Pyrrhus had both hidden theirs, there were spells to temporarily hide scars that someone - like Carver - could theoretically keep up. Death Eaters had used them all the time to hide their Dark Marks when they had to have their arms exposed.

And there was Lenore. No one had a problem with Scorpius dating Molly, no one had a problem with Vern dating Olivia, no one had a problem with Albus dating Grozda, no one had a problem - except Albus irrationally - with Orous dating Lily but with him dating Lenore? They still made jibes about her around him and made no secret of their dislike of her, it really bothered him. Lenore didn't just dismiss his concerns about Carver, she at least thought it _could_ be a possibility. She was great for talking to about things, he'd rather be talking to her then stuck in detention or simply lost in her soft lips. Instead though, he was busy teaching Occlumency to Latimer. The only upside was his Legilimency skills were improving because of the practice he was getting, whereas before he'd get flashes so brief he couldn't register what it was but now he actually could see their memories. Like with Latimer, he was flying on his broom for the first time since losing his foot and it felt so good to feel normal instead of a like the crippled sack of shit he was. The scene changed and he was trudging through Hogsmeade half-listening to Rose going on about how awful Lenore was but mostly he was watching the couples on dates, he was so lonely. The scene changed again and he was standing on top of the Astronomy Tower, hopeless eating away at his heart and tears streaming down his face as he jumped, it would be better for everyone-

Maurice felt as if his skull was being torn in two and the next thing, he was back in the Room That Doesn't Exist except lying on the floor. Latimer was looking incredibly shaken, he looked as if he was blinking back tears as his lips moved. Maurice went to put his hand to his necklace but Latimer was already leaving, he called after him but Latimer didn't stop. Sometimes he could see the advantages of hearing but he still actually preferred silence, sound was just an unpleasant assault in an alien place. He sat up, feeling shaken himself. He should be glad Latimer had succeeded in throwing him out but he wasn't, that last memory... Latimer had tried to kill himself after all. He'd refused to believe it, refused to believe he hadn't seen his friend and comrade was in that much pain regardless of how irrational everyone thought it was that someone had tried to kill Latimer. But he'd been wrong. He pulled himself up onto the couch Latimer had been sitting on, staring blankly into space. Did that mean Latimer would try again? That any of his other friends would? War was a trying time, it could break people mentally as well as physically. Had he made Latimer worse by dragging him along a few months ago? Was Latimer just a bad soldier and not cut out for anything? Should they remove him from Varanian and Scorpius' currently unnamed resistance group for his own safety?

Maurice was so focused on his thoughts that he hadn't noticed the door or the newcomer, he didn't until he felt someone tap his shoulder. His wand them on faster than he could blink but it was just Antonius and his dog, he lowered his wand. Would Antonius break too? The boy's dark chestnut eyes were devoid of hope, his soul shattered by having the magic torn from him then put back. But then Antonius had killed already and stood up to the Shadow Master himself, lived to tell the tale. He was strong, he was a good soldier. Antonius' mouth was opening and closing in speech, Maurice put his hand to his necklace and ignored the dull resounding ache in his head as he focused on activating it.

"Yes?" Maurice asked semi-curiously and Antonius' words formed by his head.

_Are you going to be long. I'd like to use this room_

"Why?"

_To. To practice magic_

"You're practicing magic?" Maurice wondered in surprise but felt proud, Antonius _was_ a good soldier. He wouldn't break, "That's brilliant."

_It is_

"Absolutely, soldiers need to learn to fight with magic and the sooner you start the better."

_Scorpius doesn't like it, he says I shouldn't practice alone because I could get hurt but he never said when to practice again and he seems busy_, Antonius paused and hung his head and toyed with the wand, _I think he just thinks I'm weak and not good enough to be a wizard. He didn't even want me there to fight the Shadow Master_

"Well he's wrong," Maurice assured him and took the wand from him with his free hand, holding it up as Antonius glanced up, "You see this? This wand chose you, it wouldn't have chosen you if it didn't think you were ready. You're nine, in Beauxbatons you'd be on your Second Year right now. And even more importantly then that is this wand itself, it was part of Herpo's Scepter. Herpo was an incredibly powerful and talented wizard, he chose to use that to use it for negative purposes but he was still great. And its second owner was Ashylos, one of the wizards who were powerful enough to stop someone as talented as Herpo, meaning he was an even greater wizard and we don't even know what he did with the rest of his life."

_And then I killed him_

"Yes, unfortunately you did," Maurice confirmed as he handed the wand back to the unhappy boy, he'd very much have liked to have known Ashylos, "But his blood still runs through your veins."

_And on my hands_

"You have great power inside you, Antonius, the wand saw it. Its last masters were great and you'll be as well, you've been through some hard things but that doesn't make you weak. You're not weak, you're strong. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, you've already had your soul destroyed so what can you go through to top that? Nothing. You're damaged for life and it's only made you stronger, you can't die from the Killing Curse now and you can't have your mind read which is good. You're a good soldier and with practice, you can be a great soldier," Maurice offered encouragingly and Antonius' eyes seemed to glisten, "What you should really work on are the Unforgivable Curses."

_I can't learn them. But they're Unforgivable, they're Dark Magic_

"And? Dark doesn't mean bad, you could kill someone with the Levitation Charm if you used it to drop them off a cliff. The intent matters more than the spells themselves, spells are just a way for us to channel the magic already inside us. You've already killed so you're perfectly capable of it you killed a good man, destroyed your own ancestor's soul in fact so taking the life of an enemy should be nothing to you."

_I don't think taking a life is easy_

"It's not but that doesn't mean they're not nothing to you, part of being a soldier is bearing the burden. Sometimes you have to do bad things for the right reasons and that's okay, wouldn't you rather feel guilty for killing then guilty for standing there and watching as innocent people were slaughtered before your eyes because you didn't do anything? Sometimes there are no good choices, you just have to go with the least bad.

_I feel so guilty_

"Part of being a good soldier is having the courage to do what's necessary then bearing your burden in silence," Maurice told him seriously, "You have to live with the things you've done yourself because it doesn't matter how you feel, you're not doing it for yourself but for what you're fighting for. And guilt is good, it shows you're still human capable of remorse. Do you understand?"

_I think so_, Antonius admitted and Maurice patted him on the shoulder.

"I have to go now but good luck practicing and have a think about what I said, especially about those curses. Remember, death is the only way to ensure the enemy will stop."

* * *

**Part 5:** Poison

* * *

Scorpius had been in a good mood following the Quidditch victory, the fact it had been a tough match made the win feel even better and he really wanted that for Molly. He also really wanted to do something special and romantic for her, unfortunately he was at a loss as for what. Buying her an expensive gift was the obvious choice - he was a Malfoy after all - but he hadn't when he was in Hogsmeade and had over a month to get to go again, by then it wouldn't even matter because the trip was the week before the last week of term. Albus had gone back and bought things to give to Grozda after their date so he had things, he also recycled the occasional sweet packages from home to give to her instead. Scorpius could do the latter but he didn't, he didn't want to just give her generic sweets that had been given to him. Malfoys didn't recycle gifts. Since the snow had fallen like a white blanket over everything that week meant that flowers were also a bad option, the other thing Albus did was poetry. They often mocked his corny poems - although Grozda seemed to like them and didn't seem to be treating Albus any different after losing to him - but after trying to write poetry, he realized how difficult it really was.

_Molly, I think you're really great_  
_I'm glad we went on a date_  
_Molly, I think you're really pretty_  
_So I wrote you this ditty_

"That's pretty lame, huh?" Scorpius asked of Michael and Abby that Saturday after showing it to them.

They were taking a break from studying like the others in the Gryffindor Common Room. Abby because Albus happily was going on about his date with Grozda, Michael because he was already feeling shattered from the full moon tomorrow and Scorpius because doing something nice for Molly was more important than his stupid OWLs and he couldn't try write anything if she was around. He'd been working on the poem all week in his free time and even he knew it sucked.

"Yeah," Abby admitted apologetically, "Sorry, Scor, I never thought I'd see poetry worse than Al's but... Yeah. It's not very coherent and it's kind of repetitive but I don't think I could do better so I'm not really one to talk."

"It's hard to find coherent words that rhyme," Scorpius sighed, "I don't even know what I'm trying to say."

"Poetry doesn't have to rhyme," Michael pointed out tiredly.

"I know but if it doesn't rhyme then I might as well just say a bunch of random things to her. This is so difficult, it's no wonder Al's poetry sucks."

"Didn't you ever do creative writing when you were being homeschooled before Hogwarts? In Muggle School we had to do it sometimes, different kinds of poems or creative writing."

"No."

"They teach you that stuff in Muggle School?" Abby wondered with interest and Michael nodded in confirmation, "Mind if I use that in my essay on muggle schooling for Muggle Studies class?"

"Knock yourself out," Michael offered and she got out the work back out she'd been doing in the Library beforehand.

"Can you teach me?" Scorpius asked hopefully, "This creative stuff is hard for me, I don't know how Albus does it so easily."

"Not really. Why are you even trying to do this?"

"Because I care about her and want to do something special and romantic for her to show it, Albus showering Grozda with gifts made me realize how terrible a boyfriend I'm being."

"Exactly, you're trying to do something to show her _you_ care," Michael told him which just puzzled Scorpius, "What I mean is, it's supposed to be an expression of _your_ feelings for _your_ girlfriend so stop trying to do things _Albus_ is doing to express his own feelings for _Albus'_ own girlfriend. Albus and you are different people, Grozda and Molly are different people, Albus has been dating her almost a month and you've been dating Molly almost two years, Albus is just getting to know Grozda and you already know Molly at least to some degree I would hope. It's completely different. Stopping copying what Albus is doing and think of what you want to do yourself."

"I get what you're saying but don't know what I want to do myself," Scorpius said with a heavy sigh and tossed the parchment with the poem into the fire, his romance skills were right up there with his comforting people skills, "What do I do?"

"I don't know, Scorpius, I'm not you," Michael pointed before sighing as he rubbed his head and stood, "I'm going to go lie down, my head is killing me on top of the full moon tomorrow."

"Alright, hope it feels better," Scorpius offered lamely as Michael left.

He was glad that Michael was recognizing his limitations and resting now at least, he hoped Marigold would do his damn job and not let Michael hurt himself like he had every full moon this school year so far. He was still having no luck with his animagi practice, he was hoping to talk to Wyatt about it over the Christmas break because he was starting to worry he was doing something wrong as it would be a year since he started trying to learn it soon. He knew it took time and he practiced every night but still, he had no way to gauge whether he was on track or not without asking him. He was also having no luck with Calderon, he was still never there when Scorpius knocked and the few times he'd seen him around, Calderon had slipped away before he reached him. He was sure Calderon was avoiding him now, he just wanted to make amends. He did still desperately want to know who the Shadow Master was but not at the cost of destroying poor Calderon and their relationship. Scorpius scowled to himself as he lay awake that night, he was failing a lot lately which he hated. He'd have to do something about that.

* * *

Maurice kept thinking about Latimer's suicide attempt the next few days, he felt somewhat awkward around him in fact while Latimer seemed to pretend nothing had happened. Then again, Latimer already knew what happened because it was his memory so why would he feel awkward? He was worried the poor boy wouldn't cope, he wondered if the others did since they hadn't believed his murder theory. Why hadn't they removed him from the group so he wouldn't be stressed? Or did they think removing him from the group would upset him even more? He at least hoped that Antonius would heed his words and be a good soldier, be strong and not end up trying to kill himself. Sunday came quickly, he spent the morning with the Lenore.

A good snogging session definitely helped take his mind off of everything, when Lenore had first described French kissing he'd thought it sounded disgusting - and still did if he thought about it - however in practice it felt amazing. He ran his hands enthusiastically over her perfect body while his tongue explored her mouth, causing sparks of pleasure inside his mind, her fingers were still running through his hair. He often felt disconnected from the world and people because of his upbringing and deafness but intimacy like that, he didn't need words or to hear to feel the connection between them, it was special.

He must have been too eager because the next thing they were falling back on the couch while still locked in an embrace, he was now on top of her which he didn't mind actually. He broke from the kiss to draw breath before leaning down to start kissing up her neck while his hand ran over her blissfully soft thigh, he liked when she wore skirts. Their mouths connected again, he passionately pressed his lips against hers and squeezing her leg unthinking. He felt her body jolt and pulled away in panic, climbing off her completely and realizing what he'd done. She had scratch marks from his nails on her leg, he'd dug them in deep enough to draw blood. She sat up and he felt guilt flood through him as she glanced at the wound.

"I'm so sorry, Lenore, I didn't mean to," Maurice apologized sincerely and gripped his necklace as she took out her wand, flicking her wand over it and it healed slightly, "I'm so sorry, I'm really sorry. Really, really sorry. I'm sorry."

_Its okay_, Lenore's words appeared before he could continue apologizing, _Don't worry about it, I'm fine. I know you didn't do it on purpose, you're just really rough sometimes_

"I'm still sorry," Maurice reaffirmed guiltily and fearful of her disliking him now, her expression was impassive but her eyes looked oddly sad.

_You're forgiven_, Lenore brushed it off and leaned in to kiss him but he turned away, not feeling much in the mood anymore. He had to go soon for his detention anyway.

"Are you sure you're okay? You look sad," Maurice offered, hoping his tone was gentle and hadn't sounded insulting. She looked surprised for a minute before composing herself.

_I'm not three, a little scratch doesn't bother me. It's something else, nothing to do with you. Is it really that obvious I'm upset_

"The eyes have it. So what's wrong?" Maurice asked, not wanting his girlfriend to be upset and maybe helping her would make up for scratching her, "Is someone giving you a hard time? I'll get them for you if you want."

_No, Maur, nothing like that,_ Lenore shook her head and looked at him for a minute as if debating whether she should tell him or not before continuing, _It's the anniversary of my Father's death today, it just always gets me down_

"I'm sorry. How did he die?"

_He killed himself in Azkaban_, Lenore told him with a flicker of pain in her eyes, _He was a Death Eater who evaded arrest after they lost the Battle of Hogwarts, they finally caught up to him when I was four and he was sentenced to life imprisonment. He died a few years later. I know he wasn't a good person but he was a good Dad_

"I'm sure he was," Maurice offered, trying to be comforting and rubbed her arm gently. He wasn't sure what to really do or say.

_Thanks_, Lenore's word came before she glanced at the clock on the wall, he looked too and realized he was out of time, _You have to go to your detention with Rutherford now, don't you_

"Yes."

_Can't you just blow it off for once. I'll blow off my Herbology homework and we can just hang out or do whatever you want. Even sneak into Carver's room to look for evidence he's a Shadow_

"I thought you thought that was a bad idea?"

_Yeah but you don't_, Lenore shrugged,_ I don't really care today_

"Well as tempting as that sounds, I have to go to the detention," Maurice said finally as he stood, "This is Rutherford we're talking about, there's no telling what he'll do if I miss a detention. I've already got two strikes and I get the impression he'd be glad to expel me."

_Alright_, Lenore shrugged again, _Bye then. Good luck with your detention_

"I'll see you later," Maurice promised and gave her a peck on the cheek before leaving.

He trudged along unhappily, wishing he didn't have detention and started to wonder if he should have stayed with Lenore and skipped detention. She didn't usually ask him for things - she didn't even ask for his help on her Ancient Runes anymore although would accept it if he went over and offered to help on his own initiative - or talk about her father or tell him she felt sad, maybe boyfriends were supposed to be there for their girlfriends when they asked for their company on a bad day. But then Lenore would've told him if boyfriends were supposed to do that, it was irrational to skip his detention anyway and he was still feeling bad for scratching her. It also was a good opportunity to get into Carver's room since he'd be gone and stuck in detention for a good long while, Rutherford had the same detention for him as Scorpius' after all except without the Legilimency and with Carver. He wished his friends would believe him about Carver being a Shadow, things hadn't gone well with Pyrrhus or Viola in Hogwarts after all. His thoughts were interrupted as he saw four of his friends - Rose, Abby, Albus and Scorpius - walking by, from the books in their arms and the direction he'd guess they were going to the Library.

"Hey," Maurice offered in greeting as he put his hand to his necklace, Rose glared at him murderously as if he'd committed a crime. He didn't get what her problem was lately, he also didn't get where Michael was, "What happened to Michael?"

_Tonight's the full moon, we just left him in the Hospital Wing,_ Scorpius explained for him and Maurice nodded in understanding, he'd known it was someday soon, _You got your detention now_

"Yep."

_Rutherford hasn't tried to read your mind or anything, has he_

_Would you stop obsessing,_ Albus complained.

"No, I doubt he'd do it in front of Carver anyway. If he does, I know how to fend him off though," Maurice pointed out and felt a twinge of annoyance, if Scorpius had just told Rutherford he took his rings and bracelet off for detention like he had done when Rutherford asked him when he was Polyjuiced into Scorpius - it was the logical answer - then he wouldn't have to worry about their cover being blown.

_Aw what, does it annoy you to have to tear yourself away from that whore's arms_, Rose's words appeared by her head and Maurice threw her a dark look, was it really so hard to at least talk civilly about her? Couldn't they just accept that _he_ liked her even if they didn't? He'd never even met Grozda and barely knew Lily but he didn't go around insulting them, it wasn't even fair they disliked her when they didn't know her.

"Would you lay off Lenore?" Maurice asked but it might have been demanding then he'd intended, he especially didn't want them insulting her while she was already sad, "Especially today, she's feeling low."

_She's just lying to get sympathy from you_

"She isn't lying!" Maurice insisted irritably, "She's feeling sad today for reasons I'm not going to tell you so would it kill you to just be nice to her if you see instead of making her feel worse?"

_If she didn't want to be insulted then she shouldn't dress like a slut and act like a bitch_

"You're a bitch," Maurice complained at her and stalked off irritably, sensing he was losing and not wanting to be late for his detention.

He arrived just as Carver did and Rutherford set them to work on the lines they had to write out a thousand times, at least he could do it in his own handwriting and he relished the silence. With Scorpius he'd had to hear Rutherford's voice, their breathing, tedious mouth sounds, stomach rumbling, wind against the windows, rain against the windows, footsteps going by outside, voices from outside and the tedious scratching of quill on parchment. Silence was the most beautiful sound. As usual, he finished before Carver who wrote frustratingly slowly but Rutherford still made him sit and wait until Carver was also done. Rutherford didn't even let the desks face the windows where he could watch the falling snow, Orous and Vern weren't going to like that if it was still snowy for the Quidditch match next week. Finally, Carver finished and Rutherford allowed them to leave. He started to head off back to Lenore but was stopped as Carver tapped his shoulder, he turned to face the older boy and put hand to his necklace while the other hovered in readiness for his wand.

"What do you want?" Maurice demanded - that time he wanted to sound demanding - of him suspiciously.

_I wanted to apologize_, Carver's words appeared surprisingly, _For my part in our duel, I may have gone a little too far and I'm sorry_

"Please, spare me your false apologies," Maurice scoffed darkly, "I know what you are."

_Well I'm out so I don't really care if you know I'm bi. And if you have a problem with that then fuck you my friend and have a pleasant tomorrow_

"What? No!" Maurice protested in confusion and irritation as Carver started to walk away, "I'm talking about you being a Shadow."

_I'm not a Shadow,_ Carver insisted, looking like he said it forcefully as he turned back to him.

"Come on, you might be able to fool everyone else but not me," Maurice told him seriously, "It's more then you just knowing and being able to use advanced spells, its technique, its training. I've been trained by the Shadows and I know you have too."

_I'm not a Shadow_, Carver repeated and crossed the distance between them.

"I don't believe you."

_Just because I've had training, it doesn't mean I'm a Shadow_

"But you admit you've had training?" Maurice questioned the slip of the tongue and Carver looked at him for a long moment before sighing, heading into a nearby empty classroom and gesturing for him to follow. He slammed the door behind them and took out his wand, Maurice also drew his but Carver just cast a spell to stop eavesdroppers.

_Okay look, my Mum is a bit_, Carver began and hesitated, making a circular motion at his head, _Round the bend if you know what I'm saying and has major anger management issues, she used to dump me on my Dad every time she got annoyed with me or thought her newest boyfriend didn't like me. We don't have the best relationship, Mum and me. My Dad is a Shadow, he's one of the teachers at the Training Tower so when she dumped me on him, I got dumped there although my Dad spared me the blood quill so I've been there on and off. But the thing is, I didn't know they were Shadows, I didn't know why they were training us to be soldiers_

"It's called the Training Tower?" Maurice wondered distractedly from being right, it would be nice to have a name for his first school.

_Yeah, that's what they call it. When I was ten, my Mum married my Stepdad. The guy's a complete prick and he hates my guts but he keeps her more stable so she hasn't sent me off since then, Dad always still keeps in contact though and gets me to train still when I visit him in the Bahamas. Well, it's not really the Bahamas, the Training Tower is in some island in a cold climate. It's just their code word I think. I tried to forget about it and I didn't think anything of it until my Dad told me to stay out of Hogsmeade the year before last, I didn't listen to him and thought he was just trying to ruin my fun_

"That was the year the werewolf army attacked Hogsmeade."

_Yeah, it was and it doesn't take a genius to figure out why my Dad warned me not to be there. I confronted him about it and he told me everything, that he was a Shadow, that the Training Tower raised soldiers for the Shadow Master's army, that he was a part of it and proud_, Carver explained and looked disappointed, _But I'm not. It scared the crap out of me, I was horrified and even more so that he wants me to be one of them too. But I'm not and I don't want to be, I love my Dad and I'm not going to rat him out because I don't want him to get killed or imprisoned but I have no interest at all in joining the Shadows. I've tried to be better person, I still am trying to be a better person. I don't agree with them or want to fight for them, I haven't taken the test either_

"And you expect me to believe that?" Maurice inquired suspiciously and Carver scowled.

_You were trained too and you want nothing to do with them, why is it so hard to believe that I could be the same_, Carver questioned of him, _I'm telling you this in the hope you'll understand. James is my best friend, the first friend I ever had and he's the only person who ever gave a damn about what I thought or wanted or liked or disliked. He's a good person, he just has a slightly psychotic dark side that I don't know what to do about but he's always been good to me. I live in fear he'll hate me if he finds out about my Dad being a Shadow and that I was trained, I don't know if he'd believe your accusations or not but I'd rather not find out and risk losing him. I'm not a Shadow and I won't be one so can you please just drop it, Maurice_

"For what it's worth, not even my own believe me so I doubt James would," Maurice admitted, still not sure if Carver was telling the truth. He looked sincere but he could just be a good liar, he studied the older boy's face carefully and notice the strong square jawline, "Xerxes Seneca is your father, isn't he?"

_Yes, he has like nine kids by different mothers and I'm one of them. Viola is my half-sister and Florian is my uncle or half-uncle_

"Interesting," Maurice mused thoughtfully while Carver continued looking at him expectantly and worriedly.

_So are you going to drop it_

"I'll think about it," Maurice decided, still not sure whether he believe him or not and Carver nodded in understanding before leaving him to his thoughts.

* * *

The next day, Michael was pretty shattered already and walking on shaking legs for the full moon that night so Scorpius made sure he got to the Hospital Wing safely. After that, he really had to work on the homework he'd neglected yesterday so he and the others got their things to head to the Library. That was when they ran into Maurice on his way to detention, at least Rutherford was being quiet and not doing anything to get inside his head. Or maybe that was a bad thing and he was planning something.

"Can you believe he called me a bitch?!" Rose complained as the deaf boy stalked off.

"Well you did insult his girlfriend," Albus pointed out as they continued on, "Lenore is awful but Maurice still likes her because he's thinking with his dick not his brain so he's going to be bothered when you insult her."

"And he wants us to be nice to her just because she's having a bad day? What happened, did the poor little dear break a nail?"

"Who cares?" Abby wondered as they reached the Library, Molly and Latimer were already there along with Corin so they went over to sit with them, "Where's Vern and Orous?"

"Dates," Latimer said simply.

"Orous went another date with my sister?!" Albus burst out incredulously.

"They were just going for a walk and relax, they weren't even holding hands."

"That you know of," Albus grumbled darkly.

"Honestly, who does she think she is anyway to tell Maurice to tell us how to treat her?" Rose continued irritably, not caring about Orous dating her cousin.

"I'm guessing we're on Lenore again?" Corin guessed, sounding bored.

"Yes, Maurice wants us to be nice to her because she's having a bad day. Can you believe that?!"

"Well, I think it's more believable that he'd say that then say to be horrible to her."

"I have got to do something about it... Do you want to go out with me, Lat?" Rose asked abruptly and Latimer's shot head up in shock, "You know to make Maurice jealous."

"No," Latimer shook his head with a scowl as he returned to his work, "I'm not fake dating you just to make him jealous and it wouldn't work with me anyway."

"Come on, Lat, its feeding time," Molly offered as she stood, starting to pack up her things as did Latimer and Scorpius opened to ask why but Molly elaborated before he could, "Care of Magical Creatures project to raise Grindylows, we have to feed them now. We'll be back soon enough unless we lose any fingers."

"See you later then," Scorpius told her and tried not to worry as she gave him a peck on the cheek before leaving with Latimer, Rose turned back to the conversation as if it hadn't happened.

"Corin? What about you? Would you fake date me to make her jealous."

"No. Think of another plan to get back at her," Corin said dismissively without looking up for his work.

"I suppose we could always douse her with Laxative Potion, eh Corin?" Albus complained, still sore over Corin dousing him and his father with Laxative Potion a few years prior to get time alone with Abby. Corin's face went scarlet.

"That was two years ago, I said I was sorry and it was stupid so could you get over it already?"

"I actually like that plan," Rose spoke up cheerfully, "That would cause her discomfort."

"Don't you think dosing her with Laxative Potion is going too far?" Abby questioned with a sigh and he noticed her try not to look at Albus, "Just because you don't like he's dating someone and someone you don't like, it's not your place to interfere and you just have to try be glad that he's happy even though it sucks."

"Don't be such a stick in the mud, we all know she has it coming."

"It doesn't give you the right to douse her with Laxative Potion," Scorpius insisted but Rose seemed determined.

"Well you two have just been spending too much time with Michael. What about you, Al? Corin? Want to help me with this?"

"No, I need to work on this," Corin told her and tapped the parchment he was writing on.

"I'm a prefect, I'm not going to let you do this," Abby stated and Rose scowled irritably.

"Hello," a vaguely familiar voice said and Scorpius glanced up to see Grozda coming over to them, or rather to Albus as she planted a kiss on her boyfriend's lips. Albus grinned and encircled his arms around her, Scorpius frowned in worry. Molly had just kissed him on the cheek, was that a sign that she wasn't happy with him? Or was his just being paranoid? "I wanted to thank you for the fudge you gave me, you are very sweet."

"I try do to do try to my best," Albus babbled, still grinning as Grozda idly toyed with his hair after pulling away, making it even more stuck up than usual. Abby looked rather like she was being tortured, "Have you met my friends, Grozda and cousin? This is Rose, Scor, Abby and Corin. Guys, this is my girlfriend, Grozda."

"Pleased to meet you."

"I have to go," Abby decided and she stood hastily.

"What's wrong?" Albus asked with concern as she started packing up her stuff.

"PMS."

"Whoa! Say no more," Albus offered, holding up a hand and making no further comment as Abby left before turning back to Grozda, "So do erm... do you want to do some like hang out or something?"

"Sorry, I've to get ready for Quidditch practice," Grozda explained apologetically, "Would not want to lose my second match."

"You put up a good match, I thought I was going to collapse from exhaustion. You're such a good talented Chaser and Captain."

"Not as good as you, it takes real skill to pretend to fly as badly as you did to throw us off. A clever tactic," Grozda complimented and Albus' cheeks flushed red at the misinterpretation of his Quidditch skill, she mistook his embarrassment as well though, "You should not be embarrassed by your talent."

"I erm... erk... Sc-Scor was the one who won the Snitch game match, my talents didn't do much."

"Your modesty is adorable," Grozda said with a smile as she kissed Albus again, "Bye bye Alb."

"Bye, Grozzie," Albus called after her as she left before sighing.

"Bye Grozzie," Corin repeated mockingly with a smirk, "You can't even string coherent sentences around her, its hilarious."

"Shut up, Corin. Grozda is a beautiful name, it sounds as if it was sung by angels."

"Less than a month ago, you laughed whenever you heard it," Scorpius pointed out and Albus' blush deepened, "And don't you think you should tell her that your flying wasn't a deliberate tactic?"

"Who cares about that, Abby left so we can get back to making the Laxative Potion for Lenore," Rose spoke up happily, "Who's in? Corin? Will you help me with this?"

"No, I have to do this work," Corin explained and tapped the parchment he was using, Rose leaned over to look at it, "Although I'm not going to stop you, I hate how she's taking advantage of him."

"How about you help me with this and I'll help you with that since you seem kind of stuck?"

"How can you help?"

"I did that last year, I get good grades."

"Eh, alright then."

"Al?"

"I would help but..." Albus started to say before they were distracted by Lenore coming in, dressed in jeans for once as she went over to an empty table to work, "But someone should stay here and keep an eye on the target, y'know?"

"Good idea. Scor?"

"No," Scorpius said firmly, "I'm not going to stop you but I want no part in it."

"Alright, see you two later then," Rose shrugged as she stood with Corin and the two headed off.

"Phew, I really couldn't be bothered to work on that potion and I want to stay here in case Grozda comes back," Albus breathed a sigh of relief as they left.

Scorpius went back to his work, finding it odd without his friends around. Although he had Albus and Albus was talkative enough, even mostly it was to praise Grozda or worry about Lily dating. He glanced occasionally at Lenore, she stayed sitting alone with her head resting on her hand as she worked with a definitive melancholy expression. Completely unsuspecting, he felt almost bad for her and half hoped one of his friends who were prefects would return first to stop it but they didn't. Rose and Corin were the first ones back, although they had a bottle of pumpkin juice and goblets oddly.

"All ready," Rose told them cheerfully as she showed them a small vial.

"How are you going to get her to drink it?" Albus asked curiously.

"By doing what Maurice wanted and being nice to her of course, that's what the pumpkin juice is for."

"I still think it would be easier to just put it in her goblet at dinner, with the seating plan it's not hard," Corin pointed out but Rose shook her head.

"No, I want to be there."

"Good luck," Albus offered with a thumbs up as Rose and Corin went over to her, Albus and Scorpius kept an eye on them though and were close enough to hear just about.

"Hi Lenore," Rose greeted the older girl as she and Corin sat down at the table with her.

"Go away," Lenore said simply without a glance in their direction, "Maurice isn't here, he's in his detention."

"I know we've had our disagreements in the past but maybe we were a little harsh on you," Rose continued as if Lenore hadn't spoken.

"Look, I don't care that a bunch of prejudiced Gryffindor pricks don't like me, nor do I expect you too. Honestly, I've been called much worse and bullied the first four years here. So go away."

"She's trying to say we're sorry," Corin spoke up and opened the bottle, pouring the liquid out into three goblets which had Lenore finally give them a tired glance. She looked very much like she wanted them to leave her alone, "Maurice is our friend and you're his girlfriend, we should at least try to get along."

"You know what would really help? You people going away," Lenore pointed out before looking back to work, "I've got to get this done, some of us don't have famous families to fall back on if we fail. And you're not allowed drinks in the Library, take it away before I have to enforce the rules."

"It's a peace offering," Rose told her and picked up on of the goblets, the small vial was pressed into her palm and he noticed her slip the contents before offering it to Lenore, "C'mon, don't you think it would mean a lot to Maurice if we could get along?"

"It's a custom in France to share a drink with new friends," Corin added and Lenore rolled her eyes as she looked back to them, finally looking up properly, "Unless you don't care about Maurice to even try to mend fences with his fences."

"If I have some of the juice will you people leave me alone?" Lenore asked them tiredly.

"Well alright, if you insist. It'd be a start," Rose sighed as she and Corin picked up the untainted goblets, raising them, "To fresh starts."

"Whatever," Lenore said disinterestedly and picked up the goblet, clinking it to the others' before downing it as the others did too. She coughed as she lowered it and handing it back to them, rubbing her throat with her free hand slightly, "There you go, that stuff really has a kick."

"In France we add spices to it," Corin offered as he and Rose picked up the goblets and bottle, "We'll see you later then."

"Good luck with your homework, Lenore," Rose added as they went back over to them, she threw Corin a dark look, "I thought it's supposed to be tasteless."

"It is. She must have a weirdly sensitive sense of taste."

"Well it's done anyway, I'm feeling much better about things."

Scorpius zoned out of Rose's happy speech to glance back to Lenore as he saw she wasn't looking so hot, her face looked flush and she had a hand rubbing her neck. She was trying to swallow but it looked like it pained her, she coughed instead and rubbed her head.

"Err... Guys what was in that potion?" Scorpius asked of them worriedly.

"The same thing I gave Al and my Father," Corin said in puzzlement.

"She's clearly faking it," Rose scoffed.

Lenore was looking increasingly worried as her breathing became increasingly erratic and difficult, it coming out in worsening wheezing until it seemed like she couldn't breathe at all. She tried to stand but staggered dizzily and fell, knocking her chair over as she collapsed onto the ground. Her hands went to her throat as she gasped desperately for air she didn't seem to be able to breathe.

"Do something!" Scorpius snapped in panic at Corin who watched in horror, Rose was starting to look more concerned.

"I'll get the Librarian," Albus offered and raced off, he wished Michael was there.

"Like what?! This shouldn't be happening!" Corin protested as Albus returned with the Librarian whose eyes bulged in surprise, Lenore's skin took on an unhealthy blue tinge as she finally seemed to pass out. He hoped she'd just passed out.

"We need to get her to Marigold," the Librarian told them as he conjured a stretcher.

Scorpius levitated her onto it unthinkingly and the old man gestured for them to follow as he levitated the stretcher to take her to the Hospital Wing, the Librarian keeping a brisk rapid pace. Michael was still in the Hospital Wing, his eyes closed and seemed to be sleeping in one of the beds. There was another patient there too, the young Byron Knight who James had bullied, the kid looked a wreck. His face was a swollen, bruised mess and his jaw looked unhinged. Marigold was tending to him and telling him his jaw was broken when they came in, he was forced to abandon him to see Lenore though. She was lifted onto a bed and seen to instead, Scorpius wandered over to him while Lenore was being seen to.

"Did James do this to you?" Scorpius asked of the twelve year old, Byron glanced at him and he noticed his face was tearstained and pained. Byron pointed a trembling hand to his misshapen jaw, trying to indicate he couldn't speak.

"She's having a severe allergic reaction," Marigold was saying, drawing Scorpius back to the situation with Lenore, "She probably was exposed to it just before the episode, did you see her eat or drink anything?"

"No," Rose lied.

"Rose!" Scorpius snapped at her irritably and she gave him a pleading look.

"Just Pumpkin Juice, I think."

"It's important to find out what she's allergic to or we can't treat her right and she could die," Marigold said seriously and Corin's eyes bulged in horror.

"It was laced with Laxative Potion," Corin blurted out in terror, "Rose and I did it but we weren't trying to kill her, we didn't know she'd have an allergic reaction or anything! I swear! We didn't mean to really hurt her!"

"I'm going to need to know _exactly_ what ingredients you used and how much."

"Yes, Sir."

"Rutherford is going to have a field day with this and them," the Librarian commented to Scorpius and Albus, they exchanged a worried look.


	7. Chapter 7: Flames and Falling Snow

_**Parts (25-29)**_

* * *

**V  
**

**Chapter 7  
**

Flames and Falling Snow

* * *

**Part 1: **Not Enough

* * *

_Tommy quickly discovered that it was a painfully slow process teaching One to speak, he had to repeat things multiple times to get One to say it and every word seemed to only numb his mind further. And even then, One didn't have context. He had to try think of the thing he was saying to get One to associate it with the word, One seemed to be able to know what he was thinking. He got it to learn their names first, he even tried thinking of Sal to get One to say her name to make sure the Shadow was learning._

_Teaching One consumed most of his free time, making One into a good person required hours of communicating with the Shadow alone. He thought One might be able to speak to Sal if he went into her instead of himself but he certainly wasn't going to risk One destroying his sister's soul unless he was sure, he didn't think he'd be able to speak to One if he did that anyway. Sal didn't say anything but he got the impression she was lonely with him so focused on One, he'd rather neglect her and stop One from hurting her - or anyone - then ignore it though. He spent so much time seemingly looking like he was staring into space that it seemed to worry their mother, she started encouraging him to keep his hopes up because their father would return to save them. She sounded so sure that he'd come for them._

_As One learned, they could start engaging in basic conversations and he could start trying to encouraging the it to be a better person... or better Shadow. By the time he was nine, One could talk. Still pretty basic but they could hold actual conversations, Tommy was somewhat proud but also terrified as One still desired pain. One managed to explain that Shadows basically fed off pain, the Dementors sucked the joy out of people then they fed off the pain. Destroying souls caused the most pain so they could feed more, hence they One desired souls to be destroyed although it admitted the misery of Azkaban could satisfy for a while. One also confirmed what they'd suspected, it had to obey the person it was bound to. Tommy was its master and he could call it to him, will it to come to him and One would obey._

_He was sure it was a good sign though, he could just teach One to eat something else and it would be good. He was telling One to be good and to not inflict pain but just to feed off the suffering of other prisoners, in return he allowed One to roam around Azkaban freely to feed off whoever's pain it wanted. The next time it was their turn to shower, Tommy noticed a change in the Dementors. They gave him much more space than usual and seemed almost nervous around him, if Dementors were capable of being nervous. Sal looked on enviously, the Dementors still had her under strict guard. It made him feel braver and he started testing the limits of how much he could get away with, pausing and moving more from side to side. He moved too close to the bars though and the next thing, a bony hand had grabbed him._

_Tommy gasped in terror as the prisoner's hand grasped around his throat, he felt the air being blocked at the same time as feeling the sharp, filthy nails digging painfully into his neck. Tearing, scratching, choking, he could feel blood oozing from him while the prisoner's bulging eyes looked unforgivingly manic. He caught the vaguest glimpse of a shadow and the next thing, the entirety of the prisoner's eyes turned pitch black and he let him go. Tommy backed away frightfully, gulping down air as his warm blood dribbled down his throat. His attacker had started convulsing though, tearing at his own neck. Was One doing that? He called to One and the Shadow shot from the prisoner, the man's corpse dropped to the ground with his bulging eyes now lifeless._

_"What have you done?" Tommy wondered breathlessly and fearfully as he backed away to the Dementor guards, for once not afraid of them but glad as they at least didn't try to strangle him._

_One protect Master Tommy_

_"I told you not to hurt anyone! Why did you do that?! Why didn't you let him go when he stopped?!" Tommy yelled in anger and horror at One breaking his word when he'd given it some freedom._

_One was hungry. One want pain. Soul pain_

_"You shouldn't have done that!"_

_One is sorry_

_"No you're not! Don't lie to me, no you're not!"_

* * *

They ended up staying in the Hospital Wing for a while, Scorpius and Albus didn't really have any reason or obligation to stay but it seemed strange to just walk away. Corin and Rose had to stay, giving Marigold the information he needed and waiting around for someone with authority - Rutherford - to pass judgment over them. The Librarian left though, Byron also left after one of the other Healers fixed him up since Marigold was busy working on Lenore. Scorpius thought he actually looked worse healed, without the swelling from bruises it became obvious his skin had become unhealthily pale with a gray tinge to it and clung tightly to the bones. The black bags beneath his eyes were so dark that Scorpius actually thought they'd missed some bruises for a minute.

"I fell," Byron said when the other healer asked how he'd gotten hurt, Scorpius couldn't help but think he was lying, "Down the stairs and hit my jaw on the bannister, I'm so clumsy. It's hard to walk with these prosthetic legs sometimes."

"I understand completely," the Healer offered, "You can go, try take it slowly and you'll be less likely to fall. And get some sleep, you need between nine and ten hours of sleep a night at your age."

"Yes, Sir," Byron nodded before leaving, not seeming the slightest bit clumsy.

"Did you get the feeling he was lying about how he got hurt too?" Scorpius asked of his friends.

"What?" Albus wondered in confusion and the trio turned back to him, Scorpius realized the others were only focused on Lenore and hadn't been paying attention to Byron which made his query pointless.

"Never mind."

Thankfully, Marigold did manage to stabilize Lenore - Scorpius may not like her very much but he didn't think she deserved to die - while grumbling the whole time and figure out which specific ingredient she was allergic to - blackthorn apparently - in order to counteract it. Or something like that, Scorpius wasn't a Healer. She still needed to stay in the Hospital Wing though to recover from almost dying, the source of the problem was removed but the effects still needed to be dealt with. Or something, Scorpius still wasn't a Healer and Marigold wasn't going into any particular amount of detail. Lenore remained unconscious but her breathing was even and the color had returned to her face. Rutherford chose that moment to show up and Scorpius caught the expression on Marigold's face, he was used to the Head Healer looking rather grumpy but the look he gave Rutherford was one of utter, absolute abhorrence. What had Rutherford done to piss off Marigold?

"This is disgraceful!" Rutherford was yelling at Rose and Corin, "You think its okay to slip poison into someone's drink?! You think attempted murder is fun?!"

"We weren't trying to kill her, we didn't know she was allergic!" Rose protested while Corin hung his head so much he was shorter then Rutherford.

"Exactly! You didn't know, you poisoned someone without finding out if she was allergic and without thinking about how it could go wrong! Accidental murder is still a crime. Don't you realize she could have _died_?! Her life would have been _gone_?! Do you not understand the concept of _death_?! What is with you kids today?! Do you really think whatever petty reason you poisoned her for is enough to deserve to lose her life?! Do you?! Huh?!"

"No," Rose admitted with a hint of guilt.

"You will both be receiving two major offenses for this, one for poisoning a student and one for how the girl almost died. You both lose a hundred points from Gryffindor and will be receiving detention," Rutherford decided and Albus made some kind of strangled gasp.

"But Mr Rutherford, Sir, Gryffindor doesn't have two hundred points left after you took all those points because Maurice and Carver were dueling," Albus pointed out fearfully and Rutherford gave him a dark look.

"Well then Gryffindor's just going to have zero points, it's not my fault your house is full of so many rule breakers," Rutherford growled at him before turning back to Rose and Corin, "You two will receive my owl in the mail about your detentions, I will also be writing to your parents about this. And you two should be deeply ashamed of yourselves, your parents are war heroes! And yet here you go around poisoning random students, you're a disgrace!"

"We're sorry," Corin offered guiltily.

"Sorry doesn't fix things, Maxime-Hagrid," Rutherford spat before stalking off, passing by Maurice as he left.

"Maurice, I-"

"SHUT UP!" Maurice screamed at them, loud enough to make Michael stir slightly for the first time since they'd been brought there. His usual neutral expression seemed a flimsy mask, barely able to contain his repressed rage, "I don't want to hear it. And the only reason you two aren't on the floor screaming in agony right now is that if the Healers are helping you then they can't help her."

"It was an accident," Rose protested defensively.

"SO WHAT?! YOU THINK THAT MAKES IT OKAY?! YOU THINK SITTING THERE TELLING HER UNCLE YOU KILLED LENORE BY ACCIDENT IS GOING TO MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE TO SITTING THERE TELLING HER UNCLE YOU KILLED LENORE ON PURPOSE?! NO! BECAUSE SHE'D STILL BE DEAD! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU TWO?!"

"Can you people leave?" Marigold complained irritably, "Yelling is counterproductive to healing."

"I want to stay with my girlfriend!" Maurice complained, seeming to try to pull back his anger at the risk of not being there for you.

"Fine if you be quiet and the rest of you go, go on," Marigold insisted as he shooed them towards the door while Maurice went to go sit by Lenore, his anger diminishing as he took her hand and looked on with concern. He threw Rose and Corin a final murderous look as they left though.

"You'd think someone named Marigold would be nicer," Albus complained as they were kicked out before chuckling to himself, "_Marigold_."

"Would you grow up?!" Rose snapped at him before stalking off.

"Aw come on, doesn't hearing his name cheer you up even slightly? It's Marigold!"

"You realize that's only his last name, right?" Corin said with a sigh.

"Don't try take this away from me, Corin!" Albus protested and Corin simply shook his head and trudged off miserably while Scorpius spotted a familiar swirl of lights without a crowd of students to get in the way, "Well, at least Rutherford didn't turn around and punish us just for being there like he did with Carver and James' duel. Not that it matters since Gryffindor has no points left now anyway, they're going to be very popular i-"

"That's great, Al, I'll catch up with you later. Calderon!" Scorpius offered and called after his cousin, Calderon looked around hopelessly as if realizing there was no way out or people to hide behind. It was just them as Albus was too far and walking away anyway. His lights turned blue as Scorpius caught up to him, his eyes becoming fixated on the ground, "I-I wanted to talk to you."

"I'm busy, Scor, I have things to do," Calderon muttered unhappily, he probably _had_ been avoiding him.

"Please," Scorpius pleaded and jumped in front of him to stop the assistant, "I'm sorry, Marius, I didn't mean to upset you like that."

"I know. But you still did, saying sorry doesn't undo the thing you're apologizing for. I try very hard to not be insane, I don't want to be insane again."

"I know I pushed you too hard when you weren't ready, I was just desperate because I really want to get that son of Voldemort," Scorpius pleaded and Calderon glanced at him miserably, "But it's not worth destroying you over, I never meant to hurt you and I'm sorry. I promise I won't bring it up again and pressure you about the Shadow Master, unless you're okay with it. I just want us to be okay again."

"Really?"

"Really," Scorpius confirmed and Calderon looked very thoughtful for a moment.

"Alright," Calderon agreed and Scorpius pulled him into a hug that Calderon returned, he was less than a head shorter to him now in contrast to his First Year, "But I really do have work to do, right now. Rutherford wants me to chase up these questionnaire things and he scares me slightly so I need to do that."

"Okay," Scorpius nodded as he pulled away, noticing Calderon was actually holding some parchment that looked like a quiz, "See you later."

"See you," Calderon offered as he headed off with a vague smile although his eyes seemed oddly sad still.

Scorpius was still in a better mood then he had been earlier, he at least seemed to have patched things up with Calderon somewhat which was something. He headed back to the Library where the Librarian had packed up their work, it was almost dinner by then so Scorpius simply took his books back to Gryffindor Tower. He didn't see where anyone else was but Latimer was sitting alone, looking rather forlorn as he stroked his cat.

"What's up?" Scorpius asked of him as he went over to Latimer, the older boy looked up in surprise before he recovered.

"Nothing," Latimer shrugged it off.

"C'mon, you can talk to me. You shouldn't bottle it up in case..." Scorpius trailed off, not sure whether it was wise to say 'in case you get suicidal again' or not. The somewhat annoyed look Latimer gave him suggested he had probably said the wrong thing.

"I'm fine, I'm just feeling kind of lonely with everyone having girlfriends and stuff not... like that," Latimer explained and sighed, "I know it's not going to happen considering how I look but when Rose asked me out to make Maurice jealous, for a split second I actually thought that maybe it was possible a girl could like me after all. Stupid, huh?"

"It's not stupid, I'd imagine it would suck."

"You have no idea how it feels, do you?" Latimer wondered, not snappishly but as if in genuine curiosity.

"Not really. I've only ever been interested in Molly," Scorpius admitted truthfully and was reminded oddly of Varanian's love for his dead wife, "I've never even thought of being with someone else, I can't imagine being with someone else. I had a crush on her since I met her and I only feel stronger about her now, she's the only one."

"Do you love her?" Latimer asked and Scorpius was caught completely off-guard.

"I erm... love is... I don't know, I certainly like... do I love... err... can teenagers even... I feel serious about... like..." Scorpius babbled incoherently as he tried to form thoughts.

How did he feel about Molly? How did you know if you loved someone? Albus threw the word around airily and he got the impression a lot of teenagers did, only to break up a few days later or in Albus' case just find another 'soul mate.' It was a well-known fact that teenagers rarely seemed to truly love but then Molly was of age now, did that mean she could love? Did she love him? His father thought she'd break up with him when she graduated, she was still a teenager too. Scorpius wasn't like Albus, he was serious about how he felt about Molly. She meant the world to him, he felt strongly about her. Was that love? Or was that just intense like and faithfulness? He supposed he could just add understanding feelings to the list of things he was terrible at.

"I don't know, we were talking about you," Scorpius decided to just stick to the subject at hand, thinking of comforting things to say is hard, "And it doesn't matter that I don't understand, I can empathize it's not nice. And you shouldn't give up, you have friends you like you for who you are and don't care about some scars. I'm sure there are girls that could like you for you are too, just in a romantic way."

"Scor, dating is different than friends and humans are pretty shallow really," Latimer pointed out, "But thanks for trying. And if you want my advice, you should stop trying so hard to think of a way to get a romantic surprise for Molly and just spend time with her. She's starting to feel guilty for not spending time with you because she's struggling with NEWTs, she's starting to catch on that you're avoiding her except she doesn't know it's because you're trying to write bad poetry and thinks she's just being a lousy girlfriend."

"What!? That's not true!"

"I know, you're like the most insecure couple who are crazy about each other," Latimer said with a roll of his eyes as he stood, holding the purring cat, "I'm gonna put Daft back in the room then we should probably head to dinner."

* * *

Michael yet again found himself being led down to the dungeons for the dreaded full moon, Rutherford had loosened the shackles but not enough to stop them biting into him painfully. On top of the already painful transformation, at least he hadn't hurt anyone and it was over until next month. And every month for the rest of his natural life. That thought was incredibly depressing and why he tried not to think about his future. How he wished he wasn't him. He had to spend a few days recovering but unlike usual, he had company. Rose and Corin had apparently had the bright idea to slip Lenore Laxative Potion and a severe allergic reaction to one of the ingredients, sending her into anaphylactic shock and almost killing her.

Marigold had saved her but she still needed a few days to recover though, meaning they were there together although Michael drifted in and out consciousness while Lenore remained rather unchatty. Maurice was the only one to visit her and did so frequently, he conjured her bluebell flames in a jar for some reason and brought her a book to read while she was stuck in the Hospital Wing along with homework at her request. Lenore seemed surprised if anything though that he kept coming to see her while she was recovering. He and Lenore were given the okay by Marigold to leave at the same time, it was only then that she spoke up.

"So interesting few days, huh?" Lenore said to him, "You hear some interesting things while drifting."

"I guess," Michael shrugged as he went to leave while she remained in the empty Hospital Wing.

"One of those things being what Rutherford does to you on the full moon," Lenore added and Michael froze, feeling his insides literally feeling overrun by cold as he turned back to face her.

"What about it?"

"You're really okay with being chained up like an animal?"

"On the full moon, I _am_ an animal," Michael insisted while Lenore's face remained impassive.

"In fact, having the shackles tight enough to cut into you is _worse_ than how you treat an animal."

"He's just being overly cautious and I'm alright with that, it's better to be safe than sorry. There's nothing wrong with that."

"If there's nothing wrong with that then why don't your friends know?"

"They do know," Michael lied but she apparently caught it and raised a dubious eyebrow.

"Really? Well I guess it doesn't matter if I go talk to Maurice about this," Lenore offered and started to walk away, it still felt weird to be taller than people.

"Wait!" Michael insisted and grabbed her arm to pull her back, she smirked triumphantly, "Alright, they don't know. Please don't tell them."

"Why not? If it's such a wonderful thing for him to lock you up and destroy your limbs then what does it matter if your friends know? Or your family?"

"It's my choice and its nothing to do with them, there's no reason to tell them."

"Or maybe you just don't want to tell them because you know that it's wrong what he's doing to you and they'll have a problem with that," Lenore guessed rather accurately.

"Maybe that's it," Michael admitted in a mumble, "Please don't tell them."

"Why not? It is _wrong_ what he's doing to you and they _should_ have a problem with that. Heck, _you_ should have a problem with that."

"Well I don't have a problem with that, I'm doing the right thing here."

"You're doing the insane thing here," Lenore insisted stubbornly, "What would you say if you found out he was doing that to another werewolf student? Would you be okay with that?"

"Of course not," Michael offered, realizing how hypocritical that probably sounded but he didn't care, "But it's not someone else he's doing it too, it's me and _I_ am okay with it. So I'd appreciate it if you don't tell anyone because it's only going to stir up trouble."

"What part of _this is wrong_ are you not understanding? Marigold hates it but his hands are tied because you keep agreeing to it. I'm going to tell Maurice and maybe he can make you see sense."

"Please, no!" Michael pleaded and jumped in front of her to stop her again, "Look, I'll-I'll give you money."

"What the hell kind of person do you people think I am?!" Lenore demanded of him angrily, "Just because I care about money and grades, it doesn't mean it's all I care about or that I'm devoid of morals! I don't like Rutherford, I don't like what he's doing, it is damn wrong to lock people up and I'm going to tell Maurice regardless of how many Galleons you offer me."

"Okay! Wait, wait, wait!" Michael protested and grabbed her wrist to stop her again, "I'm sorry. You're right, that wasn't... wasn't nice of me. I'm just desperate, I don't want them to hear it from you."

"Fine," Lenore said after a moment's thought, "Then you tell them. By the next full moon."

"Alright," Michael agreed, thinking it at least gave him time to figure out how to get out of it.

"Or I will," Lenore added as she left and Michael buried his face in his hands, now he had another reason to dread the next full moon.

* * *

**Part 2: **Searching For Answers

* * *

"Are you sure you want to this, Roman?" Varanian asked for probably the tenth time as Roman had annoyingly agreed to Annie's plan, putting more people in unnecessary risk. A semi-amnesiac with a damaged soul and a probable alcoholic still learning magic were not his first choices for this anyway.

"Would you quit asking me that?!" Roman snapped irritably, "I'm supposed to be helping and I'm certainly not doing that sitting around her, I can duel and I can't die even though I'm supposed to be dead so what's there to even think about?! I'm sure already! How many times do I have to tell you?!"

"I'm sorry, I'm just making sure that you're certain about this because you really don't have to if you don't feel a hundred percent-"

"I'm sure!"

"Don't mind him, he's just being a sore loser," Annie brushed it off as she passed Roman, coming down the stairs except now dressed in Auror robes that were too big for her. The exact same thing that Ron Weasley had been wearing when Wyatt spied on him leaving for work that morning except she had a bottle of beer in her hand.

"I'm not being a sore loser," Varanian insisted irritably, "I'm just making sure he's fine with it."

"To the point of annoyance," Annie pointed out as she reached him, "Sore loser."

"Sore winner. You're the one who keeps bringing it up," Varanian complained and snatched the bottle from her hand as she went to take a sip.

"Hey!"

"There's no drinking when you're out in the field."

"I won't get drunk from one beer."

"I don't care, the rule is no drinking."

"Not even_ one_? I need it to stop the shakes."

"You've already started on it! If you can't handle it then you can't come and my plan wins."

"Fine," Annie agreed reluctantly and held up he hands in defeat, "Have it your way."

"Fine, I like it my way."

"Because you're a sore winner as well as a sore loser."

"Spoken like a sore loser," Varanian pointed out as he put down the bottle of beer.

"You're both sore, now can you get on with it already!" Roman snapped at them in frustration and started trudging up the stairs, "I'm going to wait with lizard boy, if you're ever done bickering like children."

"We don't bicker like children. He's just grumpy."

"Absolutely," Annie agreed with him readily, "We're not bickering. He's just in a bad mood because you've asked him a million times if he's ready."

"Oh, hush you," Varanian complained of her and picked up the Polyjuice he'd poured out with hair from Ron that Wyatt had also acquired that morning, he paused before handing it to her though, "You might want to get those hair clips out, Ron doesn't have long hair so it's just going to be uncomfortable and you're going to have to take them out anyway."

"Alright," Annie said with slight hesitance before removing the hair clips, it was actually the first time he'd seen her with her hair down. It was about shoulder-length and rather flat looking from being constantly tied back and clipped, she placed the clips down on the desk, "Feels weird to not have hair clips piercing my brain."

"Why do you have to have them piercing your brain?"

"To make sure they stick," Annie pointed out as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "I hate the feeling of hair touching my neck, it drives me crazy."

"Then why don't you just cut your hair short enough so that it won't hang down and touch your neck?" Varanian asked, thinking it was the most obvious solution.

"Because I don't want to be mistaken for a boy."

"What idiot would mistake you for a boy?" Varanian wondered incredulously, he thought it was fairly obvious she was a girl. She was clearly... woman shaped and wasn't even unattractive, in fact behind the tiredness she was actually rather beautiful. And that was a strange thought.

"It happened to me all the time in high school, I had to have my hair shaved when my skull was cracked and until it grew long again, I was mistaken for a boy. I don't really bother with cosmetic crap or the latest fashion, if I'm ugly then I'm ugly but I at least want to be recognized as a girl."

"Fair enough, drink your potion," Varanian offered, trying to shove that strange thought from his mind and focus as he handed the potion to her. She drank it without hesitation then cringed, he took it back and put it down on the table to make sure she didn't drop it during the transformation.

"Eugh, it doesn't taste like beer," Annie complained before looking a little ill, "I think I'm going to be sick."

"That's normal."

Annie doubled over and clutched the table, for a second he actually thought she would throw up but instead her skin just started bubbling like a potion or as if she was melting. It seemed to be expanding as if the skin was boiling over while her hair shortened, losing texture and color. Her skin solidified again as she straightened up, now older, taller and her body was filling the robes she was wearing as she looked just like Ron Weasley. It had worked, Varanian had never actually seen some transform from Polyjuice Potion before and it made him rather glad that he was a metamorphmagi as that seemed much easier.

"Did... Did it work?" Annie questioned, her voice now deeper and sounding like Ron. She looked surprised, "Wow, I've never been a man before. My voice changed too."

"I told you that you'd have to turn into Ron Weasley who is a _man_. It really doesn't matter, you're still you. It's just your body has changed."

"Just my body... Spoken like a true meta-whatever you are."

"Metamorphmagus."

"I know, it's just annoyingly long to say."

Varanian rolled his eyes at her before shifting his appearance to that of Harry Potter, almost cringing at the discomfort it caused most of his body to change. Normally it wasn't that bad but it was uncomfortable because of being burned alive, he'd recovered enough that he was capable of changing his appearance - although he wanted want to risk drastic changes yet like if he wanted to look like Hagrid - but it would still be awhile before it felt comfortable again if the last time was anything to go by. He'd been practicing though as part of his recovery, it took as annoying amount of time as the rest of healing and he just needed to focus on it more like he had needed to when he was still learning to control it in the first place. How he wished he hadn't been burned alive. Again.

"You okay?" Annie asked of him, her deep Ron-voice throwing him slightly and his appearance shifting part back momentarily before he caught it.

"Yeah, I was just thinking how easier this would be if I wasn't still recovering from being lit on fire. Like an idiot," Varanian admitted and withdrew the glasses identical to Potter's, except the glass didn't correct his vision like it did Potter's because he already had perfect vision.

"Well look on the bright side, how many people can say they were burned alive twice and lived to tell the tale?"

"Probably not a lot. And that's a pretty morbid bright side," Varanian complained and grabbed up the wand closest in appearance to Potter's, he was already wearing Auror robes identical to what Potter had been wearing when he left his home that morning, "Come on."

"Alright," Annie agreed, giving the bottle of beer a last wistful look before heading upstairs with him where Roman and Wyatt were waiting at the kitchen table. Wyatt with his face filled with gummy worms and his hand in a bag of me, Varanian rolled his eyes, why did everyone have an obsession? Wyatt with gummy worms, Annie with alcohol...

"Roman, are you-"

"Varanian!" Roman snapped in frustration and Varanian held up his hands in surrender.

"Fine, you're sure. We go after Wyatt's mouth isn't full, I'll go over the plan again. You need to-"

"Apparate to Diagon Alley and wait for chaos to break out, Wyatt is there as a lizard watching me for when Potter and Weasley show up."

"And then I send a Patronus to you so you know you can go," Wyatt offered through his semi-full mouth, "Then back to lizard unless I'm needed to help Roman hold them off."

"While you apparate us to the Ministry," Annie continued, "I'm Ron Weasley, you're Harry Potter and it was a false alarm or something. We go to his office, you look for the file he just got about Leila and I look up those victims. When we're done, you send a Patronus to let them know to leave."

"And if anything goes wrong, we apparate to safety. I send another Patronus whenever we've left so you know to get out of there."

"You've only been over it a hundred times."

"I think it's closer to a thousand."

"Eh, how about we settle for five hundred? That's in the middle."

"Deal," Wyatt agreed, seeming to finish chewing.

"Are you two done?" Varanian complained of them, Wyatt and Annie exchanged a look before nodding, "Come on then."

They left the hideout, he'd put up anti-apparation wards and he'd rather leave it that way so they instead went out of range over by a fence. Wyatt shifted into his small winged-lizard animagi form and landed gracefully on Roman's shoulder, the older man then disapparated and they just had to wait. Varanian leaned against the fence, he could walk without unaided now but his legs still felt rather weak. Even disguised as Potter, making himself look healthier or stronger didn't actually make himself healthier or stronger. Unfortunately.

"What is up with this Ron Weasley guy? Does he have heart burn or something?" Annie wondered as they waited, it was strange to not hear her voice or see her face or to look down at her as she was shorter then him as themselves, "It's like someone keeps stabbing my lungs."

"He was injured a few years back and almost died, I believe you're probably feeling after effects from that," Varanian offered, noting how frail Annie - or rather Ron Weasley - looked. Especially in comparison to Potter, Potter had a more athletic build then his lankier fragile friend of the same age. The injury had definitely taken its toll on Ron, or else he'd just been hit with age particularly hard.

"Well that sucks."

"I-"

Varanian started to speak but stopped as a silvery winged lizard shot past him, Wyatt couldn't make his Patronus talk - nor could Varanian for that matter - but he could still make it go to him. Hence why, he'd decided to use that as a signal in the first place. He took Annie's arm and disapparated without hesitation, knowing they had to be fast. He took them to the only part of the Ministry not bound by anti-apparation wards, the entrance hall. He hadn't been there since the Shadows attacked to go after the Scepter, the damage had been repaired by now. Despite it being midday, it was still fairly bustling with - presumably - people going out or home for lunch or coming back from it. Annie was looking around the hall with interest.

"Remember, you're Ron," Varanian hissed at her, "He's been here before, he comes here every day so stop looking so fascinated."

"Fine, just try not to make your voice too high-pitched when you're talking to people," Annie said with a nod of understanding.

"My voice is not too high-pitched."

They headed up the huge hallway, past the gilded fireplaces. His heart lurched in primal terror at the flames but he somehow managed to keep himself composed, it was just harmless emerald fire from the Floo Network. That didn't stop the pounding of his heart though, just hearing the crackle of the flames made him want to run until he was safe. He silently cursed his weakness and himself, he was overreacting to fire he was perfectly safe from. Telling himself that didn't make it stop. He only started to relax when he was out of sight of the fire and the sound was drowned out by the pattering footsteps or the water rushing from the fountain. He glanced at Annie, at least her expression was normal now as they reached the guard. It was probably a good thing as people were looking at him, waving and offering good morning to the famous Harry Potter.

"You're back pretty quick," the guard commented, a bald man with a bulbous nose, "Take it, it didn't go well with Rivers?"

"No," Varanian scoffed in his best impersonation of Potter's voice that Potter's own son had approved on, "Rivers was gone by the time we showed up, if he was even there at all. Cel's overseeing taking statements but I'm not getting my hopes up."

"Ah, well better luck next time. At least we know he's alive. Unless he was Varanian in disguise, them metamorphmagi can be anywhere."

"Yeah they can," Annie chuckled while the guard scanned a list, he gave her a scowl.

"So anyway, your security question is... When did you and your wife have your first kiss?"

"In the Gryffindor Common Room in my Sixth Year, after we won against Ravenclaw in Quidditch," Varanian recounted from things Potter's son had told him a few months ago.

"Alright, you two," the guard agreed and gestured for them to move on, "Go on through."

"Thank you," Varanian said, trying not to sound as relieved as he felt as they went on past him and headed for an elevator, "See? My voice is not too high-pitched."

"Oh, Harry," Annie chuckled again, "I don't really think your voice is too high-pitched, I just say that to screw with you."

"You're the worst," Varanian complained of her as they got on an elevator to get to the second level, where he had to endure a short mumbling man lecturing him in a monotonous voice on how amazing it was to ride in an elevator with the famous Harry Potter. He was relieved when the elevator stopped and they could leave Potter's biggest fan behind, "Why do people want to be famous again?"

"Beats the hell out of me," Annie shrugged, apparently agreeing with him as she followed him through the large oak doors to get to the mass of cubicles. She dropped her voice to a whisper, "You know where we're going, right?"

"My whole family were Aurors, I've been here once or twice," Varanian confirmed in a whisper, taking a route with as many back facing cubicles as possible to avoid interaction. He was relieved when they reached the Head Auror's Office, taking Annie in and closing the door behind them. He almost groaned at the amount of papers lying around that they had to comb through, "Well best get started."

"Alrighty. Go figure, the only thing wizards have in common with the muggle world is an excessive and compulsive need for paperwork," Annie grumbled as they started looking through them, Varanian taking the desk while Annie took the rest of the room. He figured Akram's paperwork would probably be there since it had only come recently, most of the papers on his desk seemed to be profiles for potential Aurors though, "You ever been here before? Like this office?"

"Yeah. Whenever, my Grandfather brought me here he'd gripe about how this office used to be his and idiots were running the place now although he was biased. When he stepped down as Head Auror, the new Head Auror forced him to retire completely instead of staying on as a regular Auror like he wanted so he hated the guy."

"Your Grandfather was Head Auror?"

"Yep. For most of his life in fact, he was quite young - although older then Potter - when he took over and held the office for one of the longest times for Head Aurors in history. He even claimed my Father was conceived in this very room," Varanian recalled and rather wished he hadn't, still no Akram either, "And that's a disturbing thought."

"Nice guy?" Annie wondered with mild curiosity as he started going through the draws instead.

"Enoch? Err... Not the word I'd used to describe him, he was quite strict and harsh but he did it with the best intentions in mind. He was born in the eighteen hundreds though so it was pretty normal for his time," Varanian told her, thinking unhappily of how disappointed and angry his grandfather would be if he was alive at his being a fugitive instead of an Auror which was the exact opposite of what he was supposed to do. And how he was weak, a coward and incapable of protecting anyone, anything or even himself, "He pretty much hated me though so maybe he was nice to people who weren't me, he was convinced I was going to turn evil or go mad or both so he hated me. What about your grandfathers?"

"Never really met them, if they weren't dead when I was born then they died when I was really young. Hey, is this how to spell your name?" Annie said and he glanced up as she showed him a file with his name on it, he didn't know or care really what was in it.

"Yeah."

"That's how Varanian is spelled?" Annie wondered as he returned to searching the desk, she went back to going through the files.

"Yes."

"It's not missing an 'i' or 'y' something?"

"No, why would it be missing that?" Varanian asked of her, not sure of her focus as he came across a locked drawer. A simply _Alohomora_ did not suffice.

"Well, its pronounced like va-_rain_-e-an but spelled like that you'd think it was va-_ran_-e-an because there's no 'i' or 'y' or that you're pronouncing it wrong."

"I'm not pronouncing my own name wrong! By that logic, your last name should be pronounced thorn-_ee_ instead of thorn."

"Okay, let's drop that then. My last name is the only part of my name I like, unless you count my nickname," Annie admitted while he tried some other more complex unlocking spells, "Hang on I got something on the death reports."

"I can relate to that, I was named after my Father and two older brothers. Pip may sound stupid but at least it's original. And blissfully short."

"Shut up, I'm reading."

"That's why I like saying silence, its sounds polite-" Varanian started to say but stopped as one of his spells worked, the draw clicked open and 'Leila Malika Akram' was on the top of the pile. He retrieved it and skimmed through it, there wasn't a whole lot of information but there was something along with a photograph, "This is our girl, she fits Scorpius' description and her current address is listed as Athens in Greece. She works with artifacts for a living and was in Greece during the time it was there for study, odds are that she_ did_ study the Scepter and probably has figured out something about it. There is a very real possibility she has useful information."

"That's great," Annie commented without much enthusiasm, "Confirms our suspicions, too bad we don't know where she is. Anything else about her?"

"She has a kid, it was born in Greece so they don't have any information on its age, gender or father or anything like that. It just says she has one child and that she's single, has never been married so it's a baby out of wedlock. Parents are dead, two half-siblings, is entitled to a third of the family wealth but has never touched it. Nothing to help us find her or anything though. What did you find?"

"All the PAW heart attack victims show the same signs as the others I think Jack had killed, so does every person I've found confirmed to be killed by Specters. Those people did have their souls destroyed, my brother's a killer," Annie told him quietly as she tossed down the papers she'd been looking at with a melancholy expression, "And have you seen the sketch of the suspect? He looks just like my brother, the full body sketch even shows the same leather jacket."

"Well at least now we know there is something about James-"

"Jack."

"-Jack and we can look into it, see how he's involved and what to do about it. We don't know how he's involved with the Specter after all."

"Yeah," Annie nodded and their heads shot to the door as it opened, revealing a lanky youth with his hair over his eyes, "Heard of knocking?"

"I erm... I..." the boy babbled but trailed off, instead going for his wand but Varanian was faster and also drew his. Annie was slightly slower but nonetheless, had hers drawn and also on the boy in an acceptable amount of time, "I know you're not them or at least you're not Harry Potter because he just sent a Patronus to me from Diagon Alley."

"You're outnumbered, drop it," Varanian commanded without taking his wand from the boy while Wyatt's Patronus glided by them again to tell them they'd left, it caused his concentration to waver slightly and his scars showed briefly before righting himself.

"You're Varanian, aren't you?" the boy asked and Varanian said nothing, "I'm going to lower my wand, don't stun me. I'm on your side."

"On my side?" Varanian wondered, he didn't stun him but he also didn't lower his wand as the boy did his.

"My name is Hal Davis, I know Scorpius and he says you're innocent so I believe him."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that," the boy - Hal Davis, why did people have to have names? - confirmed without hesitation, "The real Harry and Ron are on their way back, Rivers disapparated away with an unknown accomplice. I can help you get out of here if you let me."

"Why should we trust you?"

"Why shouldn't you? Look, there's a secret elevator for emergencies that only Aurors or other security, service personal or those higher ups are allowed to use. It'll bypass the elevators already here, bring you directly to a room the other end of the fireplaces. From there you can get straight into the lobby and disapparate, if you don't hurry though then they'll put up wards in the lobby."

"Still not hearing why we should trust you," Annie pointed out and Hal rolled his eyes before tossing her his wand.

"There, you have my wand and I'm defenseless. Are you going to trust me or do you want to still be here when Harry and Ron get back? You'll have to fight your way past them and all the other Aurors out there in cubicles."

"Alright, fine, show us this elevator," Varanian decided to risk it and lowered his wand, quickly replacing the file and resealing the drawer.

He kept his wand in his hand though in case Hal tried anything and kept his eyes on his surroundings. Hal gave him a grateful look before leaving the room, they followed and he led them quickly through the cubicles and through a door to a corridor that was new or at least hadn't been there forty-odd years ago. It had been a closet for supplies or something if he remembered correctly, now apparently it was a new corridor with a lift. This one empty and with black wrought iron bars, Hal led them into it and pressed a few buttons. The elevator plummeted and came out into a small room, it had black wooden floor and an oak door opposite that Hal headed to. He opened it to show them the lobby filled with fireplaces beyond.

"Ah, well thanks, kid," Annie offered.

"You better hurry and give me back my wand, I'd like to get back up there and feign ignorance before I have to make up some bullshit about being Imperised which will just make you look worse," Hal told them and Annie glanced at him in askance, Varanian nodded and she handed over the wand, "Thank you. Next time you need information from the Ministry, just talk to me. Ron's my mentor so I have pretty decent access to stuff, I can get you things and tell you things far easier then you having to sneak in here."

"I'll think about it," Varanian stated as he headed with Annie out of the room into the unprotected lobby, taking her arm and apparating them both away to safety.

* * *

Leila Akram was having a lousy time of things, the Soul Eaters were after her. It had taken her months to manage to get out of Egypt and to England without running into trouble, every time she tried to talk to officials she was attacked. She was quite sure they weren't following her or she'd already be dead but she was also pretty sure that whenever she ran into someone who was a Soul Eater or at least being spied on by those Specters, they sent Soul Eaters after her. She was pretty sure governments had Soul Eater spies, hence her having to go under the radar and she dared not go to her family or after her own money as they'd be sure to look for her there and then she'd just be putting her family at risk.

Once she'd gotten to England, she'd found things no easier. She'd decided to go straight to Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived and Head Auror himself but he either was corrupt, close to someone corrupt or was just under surveillance and had had to flee before they could kill her. She hadn't dared risk trying to talk to him again and Scorpius was in Hogwarts, which she had no idea how to get to or get into. It was a nightmare, struggling to survive while trying to avoid detection. She'd slept on the streets or in abandoned houses if she could find them, she'd resorted to stealing from muggles out of desperation. It was safer amongst muggles since the Soul Eaters didn't seem to be paying attention to general muggles, she was sorely wishing she had taken the Study of Muggles or whatever it was called.

She'd thought at least in England that she'd do better finding out who Voldemort's son was, however even the English papers had kept the identity of the person the Shadow Master had polyjuiced into. They'd only say the person had been helping the Auror Office at the time, trying out a new Power Repressing Potion that meant there was no way he was responsible. The son of Voldemort didn't even want his false identity to be known apparently and annoyingly, she'd heard rumors he worked in Hogwarts but she wasn't sure if they were true or just rumors. She'd also realized that if Voldemort's son was a metamorphmagus then it could make her theory useless, it was pretty rare though so she wasn't sure how likely that was.

The situation in Greece had only worsened, the world had just left the country to rot and it really was only a matter of time before it was completely under Soul Eater control. It could happen at any moment, she doubted Greece would last until the New Year. Or even until Christmas. The other countries had sealed their borders now, leaving everyone trapped and she doubted the governments were going to do anything to help. Meaning there was no help coming for her son, if Cyrus was even still alive. It made it even more important that she do something, if she didn't save him then no one else was going to. Which made her lack of progress all the more painful and frustrating, she was letting her little boy down.

Leila was in Diagon Alley, she generally tried to avoid wizarding areas unless she was after something and in this instance it was information on the Ministry of Magic or Malfoy Manor or Hogwarts in old books on English magical architecture or history. She'd decided she'd have to either go after Harry Potter or Scorpius Malfoy again for the guy's identity, she'd have to try get them alone and cast a Patronus to banish any Specters before attempting to speak to them and even then she wouldn't have long. So she was trying to find out which option was the easiest so researching the places they frequented, she'd read _Hogwarts: A History_ which unfortunately didn't give the geographical location and mentioned protective enchantments. It was supposedly near Hogsmeade though, which she had managed to find a location for so she was going to try there to get a better idea on Hogwarts. First though, she was catching up with the news.

She was so used to the Soul Eaters being after that when she heard screams and commotion, she thought it was for her but barely managed to stop herself disapparating in time to see there was a different target. Roman. Her Roman. He didn't seem concerned or afraid for the people, his expression was neutral and his eyes devoid of hope, he looked as if he didn't really care what happened. Aurors and Soul Eaters - or simply possessing people to attack - were showing up after him, he didn't even seem concerned about that. He just flicked his wand almost lazily from one spell to the next to defend himself, frequently levitating stalls to put up a physical shield and ultimately throwing them at his attackers. The Aurors and Soul Eaters had also started attacking each other upon realizing they were there though, chaos erupted in the street between them.

Civilians were fleeing or being caught up in it, Leila knew she should leave but she found herself incapable of even taking her eyes off Roman as she hovered beneath the awning. The father of her child. The man she loved. The man who had left her pregnant while her father was dying then pretended to not remember her, he'd never even given her closure. And here he was, randomly standing in the center of the chaos he'd caused like there was no point living. He wasn't a Soul Eater, if she'd doubted it then the fact that they were also trying to kill him would stop that. She didn't know whether she wanted to scream at him or break down crying, it tore her up inside just to look at him after he'd left them. She'd love him and he'd left them, hurt and anger wrestled around inside her chest. She wondered if he'd given them a second's thought when he'd heard about Athens being attacked, he might not want to be involved but did he at least care at all that his young child was in the midst of an invading force? Clearly he didn't, he wasn't doing anything to save Cyrus but just standing there.

Why was he standing there?! What possible reason did he have for standing there?! It made her even angrier and more frustrated, she didn't want him to be killed in the crossfire. Abruptly he cried out in pain as a stray spell got though, slicing through the shoulder of his wand arm. The force of the curse hitting him knocked him to the ground, his wand fell from his hands and the crimson tide erupted from his wound. Before she'd realized what she was doing or even had time to think it through, she apparated to his side. His eyes bulged as he saw her and she thought he said her name but it was lost amongst the clashing spells, she didn't want him to die despite what he'd done. She touched his arm and one of them disapparated them both to safety before a small winged lizard she hadn't noticed could reach them.

* * *

**Part 3: **So Cold

* * *

Scorpius may have repaired his rift with Calderon but there was a new gaping chasm between Maurice, Rose and Corin. He absolutely refused to speak to them, let alone forgive them for what they did to Lenore and if they did try to apologize or speak to him then he'd just angry. Gryffindor in general was furious with Rose and Corin, they had brought the hourglass down to zero and no one was particularly happy to be essentially out of the running for the House Cup. The both of them received frosty glares and angry remarks from the Gryffindor majority, on top of that Rose had received a rather humiliating Howler from her mother a few days after while Corin seemed in shock that his father had been furious with him for what he'd done.

Scorpius wasn't sure whether it was Rutherford's or Professor Hagrid's idea but the pair had their detentions with the professor, detentions that involved cleaning up the waste of various creatures along with the Owlery. Neither were particularly pleased about this either, both admitted they would much prefer lines. Scorpius was glad they didn't, if they were with Rutherford then he might be tempted to try to read their minds and while he wasn't Lenore's biggest fan, he didn't think she deserved what they'd done to her. She didn't get out of the Hospital Wing until Michael did on Thursday morning, that was three full days plus part of Sunday she was recovering. He actually felt bad that he hadn't done anything to stop Rose and Corin.

Michael had injured himself again, of course. It made him want to punch Marigold for not protecting him or himself for not learning to be an animagi fast enough, Michael seemed oddly withdrawn though but insisted he was fine if asked. Scorpius thought maybe he just didn't like to admit that he was upset about being hurt during his transformations, it made him even more annoyed at Marigold. Why was he not doing anything?! He was right there in the Hospital Wing with Michael, why was he suddenly neglecting his responsibility to protect the students? He was seriously tempted to confront Marigold about it. If he got the chance anyway, it was almost the start of December and the workload had increased rather decreased as Rutherford announced the End of Term Tests they'd all be taking to gauge how they were doing.

The Hufflepuff versus Ravenclaw match was that weekend at least, it was an abysmal day for it though. It was snowing on and off, there was a piercing wind and icicles were hanging down from parts of the stands because it was that bad. Everyone but the players - who were in their Quidditch robes - were bundled up against the cold and Scorpius got the impression that everyone was hoping for a quick match. They would be out of luck, Gryffindor and Slytherin weren't the only ones with good teams that year. He didn't know whether they had upped their training after seeing the other or what but they were playing ferociously, especially considering the poor weather. Orous and Pentakel were both good Seekers but both teams also had good Beaters, keeping the pair off the Snitch whenever one went after it and when one did, the other wasn't far behind. Ravenclaw had talented Chasers who worked in a perfect team, unfortunately Vern was Keeper and he was really throwing himself into it to protect the hoops. Quite literally, he did an impressive - and terrifying - save that involved leaping off his broom to reach far enough to block it before landing back on the broom before it could plummet.

Vern didn't have time to rest though as the Ravenclaw Chasers were a constant presence, Hufflepuff's Chasers were a bit worse in comparison but it evened out as the Ravenclaw Keeper was probably a bit worse in comparison. And the weather didn't help, the players were all fighting the freezing wind and the Chasers were fumbling the Quaffle with frozen fingers as time went on. The snowfall also made it harder to spot the Snitch and easier to lose it when they were distracted avoiding the Beaters that targeted them as soon as they dived. People started leaving before the match was over just to get out of the cold, especially Slytherins and Gryffindors as their teams weren't even playing. Scorpius and his friends of course stayed to show their support for Vern and Orous, Maurice had also apparently convinced Lenore to sit with him even if all they seemed to do was lament how boring and repetitive they both found Quidditch. Lenore did stay though, supporting her boyfriend's friends which Scorpius took to be either a sign she genuinely did give a damn about Maurice or was trying very hard to make it seem like she did to dispel Maurice's doubts about her.

Lenore wasn't the only one supporting her boyfriend, Vern's girlfriend Olivia was one of the few whose cheers for Hufflepuff could be heard over the howl of the wind. Grozda was also sitting with Albus although she didn't seem to be supporting either match, just watching the game and discussing it enthusiastically with Albus over their chattering teeth. Lily also wasn't far from them, decked out in Hufflepuff colors and holding up - with her Hufflepuff cousin Hugo's help - a handmade banner with the Hufflepuff crest on one side, a badger on the other and 'go Hufflepuff' in big, bold letters, all in the colors of Hufflepuff. Abby had chosen to sit with her younger brother, August, who was looking rather out of place as a Ravenclaw in a sea of Hufflepuff support. Rose and Corin - unlike Maurice and Carver - were stuck in detention so not in attendance, leaving Michael and Latimer alone. Scorpius was sitting by Molly, they were snuggled up together and he put his arm around her when she rested his head on his shoulder. He really didn't care if the match lasted for an eternity after she did that. He did notice that she seemed unusually quiet, usually she was rather excited about Quidditch. Although she seemed tired more than anything else, her eyes were looking rather shadowed recently as if she was losing sleep.

Scorpius had been thinking still about what to do for her, he was starting to think that Latimer was right after all. He should just blow off some homework one of the days and whisk her away to the Room That Doesn't Exist, he'd been experimenting with the capabilities of the Room's magic and he thought he could create her a rather nice environment for them. He knew the kind of cozy style Molly favored when in the Room and he could make it show them rather picturesque scenes through a huge window, he knew she liked landscapes after all. He could take her there to spend some time together, maybe bring something to eat and drink since the Room didn't seem capable of conjuring them from scratch understandably considering being it was one of Gamp's Laws of Elemental Transfiguration that food could not be created from nothing. If he wasn't so deathly cold then he might've considered something to do with flying since they both loved it, their first kiss had been in the air in fact in the air. He was just going to have to hope that his lame Room of Requirement idea was enough.

The match ended up lasting three hours, Hufflepuff were only up thirty to twenty and there was a noticeable drop in skill as the players struggled with numb fingers as well the other team. Only Vern still seemed at the top, throwing himself into it with fierce determination that had the Hufflepuffs remaining cheering his name. Orous and Pentakel were neck and neck as they soared for the sliver of gold, one Bludger missed them by a mile while they managed to avoid the other while staying on target. Scorpius silently urged Orous on but Pentakel got it, they were at equal speed but Pentakel was taller with longer arms that gave him the edge in the end and Orous lost by such a miniscule amount. Not that there were many people left to see the victory by that point, half the students at least seemed to have returned inside and even some of the staff had gone inside too. Vern looked utterly devastated as they landed, he threw his head broom onto the snow covered ground and hung his head in shame.

* * *

_One's actions had caused Tommy to give up on his plans of changing the Shadow, he had given it some freedom and it had thrown it back in his face and destroyed a life. Maybe it had been trying to protect him or maybe it was just using it as an excuse but either way, it had been very well aware that killing was absolutely wrong and it was not to do so under any circumstances but it had defied him. He couldn't trust it, it had been stupid to think it could ever be anything else then a creature of pure darkness. Or rather just the Shadow of one, it wasn't even an actual entity by itself. It was worthless._

_"I don't know why you're upset about it," Sal insisted determinedly in Parseltongue, "One saved your life, Tommy, your life. It's not like the Dementors were doing anything to help you. So what if it killed that psycho guy? I'd rather have you then that guy."_

_"I told it not to kill and it did, it doesn't matter the circumstances. It's the only thing that was absolutely forbidden," Tommy countered equally determinedly, "It didn't have to kill, it could've just maybe hurt the man and then let him go when he let me go. But it didn't One went one step further, a step too far and killed him. It's unforgivable."_

_"He was a bad person, Azkaban is a prison for criminals after all. Not just Death Eaters. And he was trying to murder you!"_

_"He was still a person, Sal! A person that One killed without needing too even after I forbidded it! How can you defend it?!"_

_"How can you not?!" Sal shot back, "If someone you care about is being killed, you don't care how they survive as long as they do. So what if One killed him?! It saved your life! And who cares if he died?! He deserved it for hurting you!"_

_Tommy didn't believe her though, it didn't change his mind about One. The Shadow was bad news and he knew it. One frequently called to him and tried to interact with him again but Tommy refused, what it had done was unforgivable and nothing she could say was going to change that. Ironically though, the whole thing was one of the few times that his mother was actually on Sal's side. She didn't know about One of course but she did know he'd been attacked by another prisoner, until the prisoner dropped dead._

_"He was nothing. Filth. Garbage," his Mother assured him as she sat gently stroking his hair before bed while Sal sat alone in the corner watching enviously, "You're the son of the greatest sorcerer in the world, you're the children of Voldemort. You're better than anyone here, you're better than almost everyone else in the world. You carry the blood of power, of kings, of royalty, you're his very own flesh and blood. That madman was nothing. He deserved what he got, he deserved to die for daring to attack the son of Lord Voldemort. If I'd been there then I'd have killed him myself, after torturing him, of course. He deserved to suffer for daring to attack Lord Voldemort's little boy, a quick death was actually too good for him if you think about it."_

_Tommy wasn't convinced but it really didn't matter either way, whether the man deserved it or not was not the issue after all and actually had nothing to do with it. The issue was One had destroyed his soul against Tommy's will, it remained unforgivable in his eyes and he went back to being unsure about what to do about the scary thing attached to him. He no longer let it roam either. Because of the incident, the Dementors had actually returned them to their cell without giving them the intended shower so they were taken out again a few weeks later instead. Tommy was incredibly on edge and walked on trembling legs, terrified of One somehow getting anyway to hurt someone else, terrified of being attacked again. He was so worked up that when they reached the showers and the Dementor tapped him on the shoulder to tell him it was time to undress, he freaked._

_He felt the magic erupting from him and screamed against it but if anything panicking made it worse as the pale yellow light still engulfed his vision, the Dementor who'd tapped him now convulsing. His nails tore into his scalp as pain exploded inside it as the felt the magic raced through his veins, he was crying for it to stop, crying that he didn't want this and screaming against the agony but his voice was lost in the thrum of the magic. If anything, emotion only fueled the fire and he collapsed in a quivering heap on the ground as it faded. The limp Dementor hanging unmoving in the air, a second Shadow joining One. He buried his hands in his face, he felt Sal's arm around and threw himself against her instead to sob onto her shoulder._

_"I d-don't w-want th-this, S-Sal!" Tommy cried miserably, "I d-don't want t-to b-be the Sh-Shadow M-Master, wh-why d-does th-this ha-have to ha-happen to me?! Why?!"_

* * *

Roman Rivers mind exploded with memories as he laid eyes on Leila and he apparated them both away from the danger instinctively, he didn't really had a location in mind but somehow ended up outside an old cottage. He barely had time to register that though as he'd also splinched himself, tearing the wound he'd received that much worse and he passed out momentarily. He'd had dreams of her but seeing her in the flesh and been what brought it all back, seeing people in person seemed to be the only thing that really helped return his memories to him. He had two photographs, one of his family when he was a child and one of himself as a Seeker for Slytherin in Hogwarts but they only brought the vaguest images to mind. In contrast, he remembered a lot that had happened to him in the past - almost - two years from seeing Varanian and Wyatt, Scorpius and Annie, people he'd spent the past two years with in the hideout although things revolving around people who weren't them were still gone. Things before Varanian had freed him from the Specter were a blank though, he'd been told things about his past and his family but he didn't remember any of it.

In a way, he didn't even want to remember. He thought the old Roman sounded like a bad person and kind of an asshole, a terrible father, a selfish prat and somewhat sexist. But with Leila, he remembered good things. He remembered how much he loved her, how he'd do anything for her, how he'd traveled despite his fears with her, all the little riddles they'd give to each other, how much he'd wanted her to be happy. He knew something must have gone wrong since they weren't together in the present clearly but it was still nice to know he wasn't all bad, they'd been happy. At least for a little while, they'd been happy and he savored those precious seconds he had with her in his memories. And she lived in Athens in Greece, explaining the horrified feeling he'd been struggling to shake since he'd heard Athens had been taken over. He drifted in and out of consciousness thinking about it all, he wasn't sure where the lines were between reality, thought and memory but he was still sure he loved her.

He became aware Leila had moved him to a bed and was he was shirtless as she was tending to his injury, often his drifting to reality was when she was changing the bandages on his wound but fell back before he could try think about returning to the hideout. He didn't know whether it was from the spell or if the wound got infected or what but he was feverish for a time, only adding to the confusion. And even in fever, he was still cold. He broke out of it though eventually, of course, truly aware of his own mind again. Or as much as he could be considering the gaping voids in memory. Leila was there checking his forehead, she looked slightly older then he remembered - it had been maybe six years since he'd seen her last if he recalled correctly - and rather unkempt. Her clothes were worn, her hair was a mess and her eyes were tired or sad, or both. He still thought she looked beautiful though and his poor heart leaped in joy to see her, gazing at those beautiful bright brown eyes that still held warmth.

"I think your fever has broken," Leila commented, more to herself then to him, "But your skin still feels cold now instead."

"I'm always cold, that's normal now," Roman admitted in a slight rasp and she looked at him in surprise.

"Well, if you can think again then that's a good sign," Leila said as she recovered, instead reaching for a cup by his bedside as he sat up weakly which was awkward considering his right shoulder was bandaged rather shoddily, "Here's some water, you need it."

"Thank you," Roman offered and took the cup from her, downing the refreshing liquid, "How long have been out?"

"A few days. I think your shoulder got infected, I did my best but I'm no healer and I couldn't exactly get one considering the state of things with both of us. You should apparate back to wherever the hell you're staying right now, I have better things to do then be here with you."

"Leila, please wait! Don't go!" Roman tried out desperately in panic as she turned to leave before glancing back to him, "We should... We should talk, please. About stuff... and things. I remember you."

"I remember you too, that's how memories work," Leila pointed out rather sharply.

"No, I... I lost my memory, you see."

"Really?" Leila wondered dubiously as she folded her arms.

"Really! You know the Specters? They can tear out the magic from people's souls, they die if it's not and if it is put back then it scrambles your mind. You forget everything, not just memories but even things like how to walk or talk and you always feel cold. Like the world is distant and you're not really there, you're not a part of it anymore because you're not meant to be alive," Roman explained and her expression softened maybe slightly as if she was considering whether that was true, "It's real, it happened to one of my sons and the Ashain boy although I don't know if it's the same for them. I haven't met them, well I guess I have but it was before so I don't remember them. It was a few months, I'm doing better I guess but memories are still hard."

"But you just said you remember me?"

"Seeing people brings the memories back, or at least some of them. That's why I can remember people like Varanian and Wyatt but my own family are blank, I don't remember my parents or my siblings or my Hogwarts years or my sons or their mother, I don't even know how I got these scars," Roman continued and gestured vaguely at the myriad of wounds on his chest, "But I remember you, I remember that I love you."

"Do you remember why you left?" Leila asked him quietly and he drew a blank.

"No. What happened?"

"We just got engaged, you went to see Maurice in England while I went to see my sick father in Egypt. And then you just sent a letter saying it was over, when I saw you later you pretended to not know me instead of even giving me a reason," Leila told him and Roman felt another pang of misery for the horrible person he'd been but he was sure he couldn't be that bad, there had to be a reason...

"How long ago was that? Six years, right?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Because that was when I found out they were using the blood quill on Maurice," Roman realized, he couldn't really remember it but he had a good idea of what had happened, "The school he went to was some kind of training school for the Shadows, they make the students use blood quills on a daily basis. He kept it hidden but when he was eight, I found out apparently and pulled him out. They couldn't have that though, they forced me to work for them and send Maurice to Beauxbatons to continue to learn magic or they'd kill me and his mother could send him back to the Shadow school since she'd get custody then."

"Why didn't you tell someone? Tell me? Try to get help?" Leila questioned of him.

"I couldn't, they kept a Specter inside me at all times so it could destroy me if I tried to disobey or get help. I couldn't tell you, I couldn't tell anyone or I'd lose my soul," Roman explained, not that he could remember any of that, "I had to break up with you, I don't know if they made me or if I just did to protect you from getting caught up with soul destroying but I couldn't stay with you."

"How did you get free then?" Leila asked somewhat sadly but seemed to be coming round as she sat on the edge of the bed, "The papers claim you're a Shadow or a vigilante or both. Not that I ever believed you were a Shadow, you hated Dark Magic and people like that because Death Eaters killed your parents."

"Scorpius and Varanian figured it out two years, he cast a Patronus at me and banished the Specter. The Shadows were after Herpo's Scepter at the time, that I was supposed to be helping them get from the Ministry. Instead, I helped Varanian and Scorpius and we stopped them then. Varanian took me with him, he has a hideout and I've been under his protection ever since. Varanian's trying to stop the Shadows, he's done more then the Aurors have really. But don't say that to him, he hates the thought of groups for some reason."

"And causing a riot in the streets is helping stop them somehow?" Leila wondered with an eyebrow raised.

"It's a distraction, I'm wanted so he figured Harry Potter and Ron Weasley would show up so Varanian and Annie could break into the Ministry disguised as them," Roman admitted as he put his glass down and moved closer to her, "The Shadows want me dead and the Ministry is corrupt, riddled with Shadows so if the Aurors know then the Shadows know which is why they also showed up and everything spiraled out of control. But whatever, I just needed to buy as much time as possible. What were you doing there?"

"Searching for answers and then I saw you..." Leila told him and trailed off as she averted her eyes, "I couldn't watch you die."

"You needn't have worried, I had back up," Roman assured her and quivered as her fingers brushed the largest burn scar on his chest, her touch made him feel rather connected, "And... And dying isn't easy for me anyway, people who had the magic ripped out of their souls can't be killed by the Killing Curse."

"Alzay gave you all of those scars, you know?" Leila offered solemnly as she moved her hand away, "The mother of Maurice and Orous or Sathan and Lathan were their birth names, she was abusive to you. You were so afraid of her, afraid of women in general because of her. Whenever we fought, we used to put our wands down because you would get so scared that I'd hurt you."

"I didn't know that, they never said," Roman admitted quietly, although realized they probably didn't know. It wasn't something he felt like bragging about, if anything it just made him feel rather depressed and humiliated. He realized there were tears in Leila's eyes.

"All this time, I didn't know. I thought you just left because you didn't want..."

"No, I always wanted you," Roman told her firmly and caressed her cheek gently, instinctively and she glanced back to him, "You didn't do anything wrong."

"Not what I was going to say but alright," Leila whispered without pulling away, "Do you remember the riddle I gave you before you left?"

"Err... I remember you giving me the paper but not what it said or if I solved it. You weren't there for those things obviously so I wouldn't. Why? What did it say?"

"Never mind," Leila brushed it off with a shake of her head and he moved his hand away, "You should probably rest, we can talk more later."

"Yeah," Roman agreed but didn't move, neither did she though.

They sat there staring into each other's eyes as if seeing the other for the first time before they leaned in, lips slotting together as they kissed. Whoever said that touch helped you feel connected to the world again had been right, he actually felt like he was alive again. He kissed her passionately as if to try to make up for all those lost years and she kissed him back with equal fervor, he put his arms around her to pull her closer without caring of the irritation it caused his wounded shoulder as her soft fingers ran through his hair.

* * *

_Tommy had no choice but to give some trust back to One, the new Shadow hadn't been taught to talk like One had after all. One could act as an interim though since the three were all linked now apparently, One said they were linked to his very soul now. He'd be lying if he said that didn't disturb him but short of another burst of magic powerful enough to sever them from him, he - nor One nor Sal - had any idea on how to free him from them. And even then, unless they were bound to something else then he didn't want to risk them running rampant and destroying souls left and right. Which he had no doubt they would do if given half the chance._

_So he was forced to live with them and in fear of them, the absolute lack of anything to do in Azkaban really gave him nothing to do but let the worry gnaw away at his soul. Sal was a life saver, she could tell when he was upset the worst and knew what to do say to take his mind off things, she was always there to talk to if he needed it. Unlike their mother, who didn't know because she hadn't believed them before. He wished he was strong like Sal, she always what to do and he never did. He didn't know what he'd do without her._

_It was a rough year before they made it to double digits, their mother was delighted they'd lived a decade already. Their mother actually was in a very good mood that year, convinced that it was the year that their father was going to return and save them. He'd have to if they were to attend Hogwarts the next year when they turned eleven, her hope was infectious and he and Sal both found themselves cautiously optimistic. It made sense, if their father was ever going to come for them than it should surely be now._

_Their mother would go back over in detail what to expect at Hogwarts, getting acceptance letters and buying things from Diagon Alley. They'd have wands and be able to do magic, go through the platform to the train and eat sweets - which were supposedly food that tasted good - off the trolley, go over in boats and see the castle. They'd both be Slytherins of course, they were the heirs of the founders and they'd be exceptionally talented naturally, maybe they'd make friends with the other students as long as they were purebloods. They'd eat like the royalty they were from the great feasts provided, they'd never be hungry again._

_It wasn't just their mother's memories of the past but these would be actual things they would do, things that could happen to them. Good things, for once although Tommy knew this wouldn't free him from his Shadows but it was still good. They craved it so desperately, it sounded so wonderful, so much better than the life they knew. But it was a life they'd never have. As their eleventh birthday drew closer, they watched the window eagerly with hopeful anticipation at the possibility of a letter from the outside world or the rescue their mother had always claimed. They turned eleven and watched the days whittling down to September 1st but nothing, the letter never came and neither do their father._

_They were trapped still, locked away from the world forever. Tommy felt a fool for his hopes and his spirits plummeted back to rock bottom as the spark of chance at change was taken from him, Sal's hopes were similarly obliterated. Their mother's remained but with less vigor, he was starting to think that maybe Sal was right after all about their mother being insane. Maybe there was no outside world, no father, there was only the desolate pit of despair known as Azkaban. Their mother just deluded herself into believing different or if there had been a world, maybe it had gone by now, they had no way of knowing. She thought she'd seen a dog walk by the cell recently which was quite impossible after all, even if he felt bad for doubting his mother._

_He was in such an abysmal mood as he and Sal were again taken for their shower, which he swore had taken longer than usual. He wondered why they bothered really, since the incident with the prisoner he'd decided he preferred not having the risk of wandering Azkaban. Showers weren't even nice, the water was always cold. But then when was anything ever warm? Unless one of them was ill with a fever, then they felt like they were on fire. Tommy was also petrified of causing another Shadow to be attached to him, he was worked up about it and just wanted to be back in his cell where he was safe. Afterward they got changed back into clean clothes, the fabric was worn and hard but it was clean which he liked. He was so lost in thought about that though that when the Dementor took his arm to lead him away that it caught him by surprise, he panicked and caused the very thing he was afraid of yet again. A third Shadow joined him._

* * *

**Part 4: **Fleeting Moments

* * *

Scorpius ended up waiting another week before his surprise-date-time thing with Molly, he hadn't left himself much time to get some food for them. It meant visiting the Kitchen and rekindling his friendship with the house-elves after all, he had no other way to get food in Hogwarts. He hadn't really spoken to them much since his First Year but they didn't seem to mind, understanding he hadn't been Calderon's assistant anymore and they didn't tend to have contact with regular students. He actually thought it was good to catch up with them and they were on board with helping him with food for Molly, he was surprised to hear that they actually didn't like Rutherford either. Apparently the attaché treated them like garbage and had started having them do paperwork to keep track of who was doing what where as part of his security measures, they found this rather tedious.

It was a slow week, he just wanted it to be the weekend already. The weather remained cold and sluggish as November turned to December but like with Halloween, there was no decoration for Christmas because of Elwood's not wanting to offend people who didn't celebrate it. Or maybe to do with Rutherford's security measures since the attaché was pretty much running Hogwarts now, he could have decorations put up if he desired. The workload didn't even decrease thanks to Rutherford's End of Term Examinations like it usually did, he might've thought it was just because of OWLs but the Fourth Years had the same level of work. Although on the bright side, he seemed to be improving at Occlumency and could keep Maurice out for longer. The situation with his friends didn't improve though, Maurice was still mad at Corin and Rose over their spiking Lenore's drink.

"Don't you think you're being a hypocrite?" Rose complained at him one of the days when he started to pack up his things when Rose and Corin returned from their detention, "I mean, if our positions were reversed then you probably would've done much worse than giving my boyfriend Laxative Potion."

"Our positions have been reversed," Maurice said pointedly, glaring at her murderously, "I never liked any of the guys you dated but I didn't harm them."

"Well you're just being unforgiving, it was an accident. We wouldn't have done it if we'd known she'd have an allergic reaction and nearly die, we weren't trying to kill the bitch."

"Albus?" Maurice asked randomly and Albus jolted in surprise, looking up from the love poem he'd been writing to Grozda, "Do you remember years ago you betrayed me so your brother could jump me?"

"Err... Yeah," Albus confirmed slowly.

"I have decided you've earned my forgiveness."

"Good to know," Albus grinned with a look of relief while Maurice turned back to Rose.

"See? I'm perfectly capable of forgiveness, you two just don't deserve it," Maurice pointed out darkly, "You're not sorry, you just called Lenore a bitch right now and you haven't even apologized."

"We've apologized plenty!" Rose protested and Maurice gave a derisive snort.

"Not to Lenore, you haven't. It's not my forgiveness you should be after, Lenore's the one you wronged."

"You expect us to say sorry to _her_?! You want _her_ to forgive us before you do?!" Rose wondered incredulously and Maurice just gave her a look before leaving, Corin sighed sadly, "Well that's completely unreasonable! Lenore's incapable of forgiveness, she's an evil bitch. I bet she's enjoying this. It's an impossible task."

Scorpius sighed. He wished his friends could just get along although he did think Maurice had a point, still constantly insulting Lenore didn't help enforce the sincerity of her apology. He thought maybe the Christmas break in a few weeks would help, sometime apart to think about things might be good for some of them. It also appeared that Varanian's plan had come to fruition as Maurice told them it was in the paper there had been a break in to the Ministry, two people disguised as Harry Potter and Ron Weasley had got in and out but it didn't appear anything had been taken. It was believed to be either Varanian or the Shadows, Roman had also been sighted in Diagon Alley at the same time which had caused a small skirmish to break out between Shadows and Aurors but Roman had gotten away. Albus also received an angry letter from his father, demanding how much he had told Varanian about him when he'd been with in the summer.

Scorpius tried to put it out of his mind though, that weekend was all about spending time with Molly not obsessing over the war. He headed down to the kitchens again Saturday morning, helped out the house-elves with the food before leaving with that and the drink to put in the Room That Doesn't Exist so it would be ready when he brought Molly there. He was surprised when he walked in to see Antonius there with his dog, sitting at a lone table with his wand out. There was a glass or maybe clear plastic box in front of him with a rather large and gnarly looking spider contained inside it, what truly caught him off guard though was the spell he was trying to cast.

"_Crucio_," Antonius said as he flicked his wand at the spider, it wasn't successful but still. Scorpius strode over to him furiously and the boy looked up in surprise at the sound of his footsteps, "Oh hi, Scor-"

"Don't say hello to me! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Scorpius demanded angrily, trying to keep his temper, "What did I tell you about how dangerous it is to practice magic alone at your age without proper instruction?!"

"I know but Maurice thinks it's a good idea, if I was in Beauxbatons then I'd already have started learning spells," Antonius pointed out and Scorpius resisted the urge to bang his head against something, trust Maurice to be telling the boy the opposite of good advice, "I'm a soldier, I need to be able to fight the Shadows now. The war's not going to wait for me to be older."

"Alright fine. Even then, why the hell are you practicing the Cruciatus Curse?!"

"Maurice told me I should," Antonius offered, looking slightly confused by his rage, "He thinks they're useful."

"They're _Dark_ Magic! It's one of the _Unforgivable_ Curses!" Scorpius yelled at him, losing his temper, "Of course Maurice thinks they're useful! He was trained his whole life to be a soldier and to fight, they warped his mind and he doesn't know any better! But you do! You do know better! You know Dark Magic is bad, you know the curses are Unforgivable, not to mention illegal! You've seen enough of your father's classes to know this!"

"Sometimes you have to do bad things for the right reasons and that's okay, part of being a good soldier is to have the courage to do what's necessary."

"You're not a solider, Antonius, you're a fucking child!" Scorpius turned away and put a hand to his head, "I should never have dragged you into this."

"I'm not a child, Scorpius!" Antonius shouted back surprisingly and he turned back to see the boy was now standing.

"You're nine years old!"

"So what?! I've had the magic ripped out of my soul and I haven't been normal since! Do you think I've played with a single toy since?! Do you think I've ran around playing?! Do you think I've laughed at stupid jokes?! Do you think I've done any normal kid things?! No! I just sit there listening to people say 'Tony, why don't you do that? You used to do that, Tony. You used to like that, Tony' but I'm not Tony anymore! I'm not the same! I'm not a child! I'm some inhuman freak of nature that's not even alive anymore! You know why I can't die?! Why my mind can't be read?! Because I'm already dead!" Antonius yelled at him fiercely before pausing to breathe, looking upset, "It's too late for me but I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure the people I care about still have a future, which means stopping the Shadows, which means being a soldier and practicing magic. To hell with the consequences to myself."

"Antonius-" Scorpius started to say even though he had no idea what to say to that but Antonius was already heading to the door with Hope, "Antonius!"

Antonius didn't stop and left without another word or a look back in his direction, Scorpius considered going after him but he still didn't really know what to say. Maybe he shouldn't have snapped at him either. He headed out but Antonius had left the corridor anyway, maybe it was better to give the boy some time to cool off. He could talk to him some other time, he'd have to anyway and he'd have to tell Maurice to stop encouraging him. Antonius clearly wasn't in a good place mentally, he shouldn't be practicing Dark Magic even if he wasn't nine on top of that. He should probably tell Orous to talk to him as well, Orous was the one who'd understand what he was going through with his soul being damaged. He didn't think it was likely that Antonius was going to give up on learning magic though, he'd just have to make sure to keep a better eye on him now.

He also still had to get Molly to spend time with her, he seriously considered putting it off until tomorrow but he'd rather not risk it in case something happened to screw up tomorrow. There were only three weeks before the Christmas break after all, next weekend was the examinations, the week after was the Hogsmeade trip and the week after they broke up before the weekend so really it had to be then. So he put the food back in the Room That Doesn't Exist and went to find Molly, the map made that pretty easy to see she was in the Owlery presumably posting a letter with her beloved owl, Hopper. It was perfect, he didn't even have to take her away from a group. He caught her just as she was leaving.

"Hey Scor," Molly greeted him with a smile as he tried to get Antonius off his mind, "Where you going to send a letter too?"

"No, I was looking for you actually," Scorpius told her as he returned the smile, he held out her hand, "Come on, I have a surprise for you."

"Really?" Molly wondered in surprise as she took his hand and he started leading all the way back to the Room.

"Yeah, we haven't had a lot of time for each other lately so I thought we could just ditch our work for a day and spend some time together."

"Really?"

"Is that the only word in your vocabulary today?" Scorpius asked of her jokingly and she laughed.

"I'm sorry, I'm just surprised."

"That's what I was going for."

They continued on, hand in hand to get back to the Room That Doesn't Exist. Scorpius focused on the room he had in mind before taking her inside, he took her gasp to be a good sign. It was a cozy room cottagey room, comfortable, warm and somewhat inspired by the Burrow except not cluttered. There was a burnt orange couch with a throw over it inside, facing the opposite side to the entrance and had a small table in front with the food and drink in a bag ready. Instead of an opposite wall though, there was just window. The entire wall was literally a window, revealing a beautiful view of the snow covered landscape outside Hogwarts. The frozen lake glistened in the light, the trees frosted with white and the ground an untouched layer of white.

"Wow, it's so beautiful," Molly said in wonder as she moved closer to the window, her eyes glued to the window.

"I know you like landscapes," Scorpius offered as he went over to her, putting his arm around her. She turned to him and smiled before planting a kiss on his lips, he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her back tenderly. He felt his heart swell and give a joyous leap, he may not know if he loved her but he certainly felt very strongly for her. He pulled away and gazed into the beautiful sky blue eyes he adored, caressing her cheek, "I know I can get caught up in things sometimes and I've been busy lately but I do still care about you, so much. I am so glad to have you in my life, Molly."

"You're so sweet," Molly whispered and blushed slightly, "I'm sorry too, I can get up in things too. Worrying about my vision, obsessing over exams and Quidditch, I'm not sure who'll replace me as Captain but I'm trying to train up Rufus to be ready to replace me as Keeper next year and work Abby up to replace Lat so then there should be a team still to work with and... and there I go again. I'm sorry, I've got to stop doing that."

"No it's alright, I love you're so passionate about it," Scorpius assured her and moved his hand away, "So do you want something to eat? I got us some food for erm... whatever meal this would be classed at, I have no idea what time it is."

"That sounds nice," Molly laughed as they went over to the couch, worries aside to just relax and enjoy the time they had together.

* * *

"So where are we anyway?" Roman asked curiously as he and Leila lay nestled together in the bed as the dawn light filtered through the windows, his fingers idly and gently tracing circles onto her shoulder with his unhurt arm.

"I don't know," Leila admitted and shrugged vaguely, "You're the one who apparated us here. It's some kind of abandoned cottage, I don't think it's been lived in years. There's a handful of furniture items left and they're all covered in dust sheets. Place seems safe though, I put up some protective enchantments just in case. I've gotten somewhat better at them from being on the run like this, you have to."

"Huh, I really don't remember what I was thinking there except safety. We should go back to the hideout, Varanian's got that place protected and he knows his stuff. He'd protect you, you'd be safe there."

"What is the deal with him anyway? I don't know what story to believe."

"Well, he was the Headmaster of Hogwarts but the Shadows possessed him. Because he's a metamorphmagus, they could hide the possessed eyes while controlling him. They had some kind of plan to take over the school and possess the students, he and Scorpius stopped it though but Varanian got blamed for it anyway and was arrested. The Ministry and Auror department are riddled with Shadows, they tried to kill him but he got away and has been on the run ever since. He's trying to stop the Shadows now and others are helping too, including Scorpius and my sons," Roman explained to her, "So what's the deal with you?"

"Athens was attacked, there was an army of possessed dragons and there night in the day from Herpo's Scepter. I didn't see the Shadow Master but there was this blue light like a small sun of blue, that I'm pretty sure was him with the Scepter. He summoned lava to flood the streets and raised all the buildings into the sky, the _entire city_ just rose up and he dropped it down mercilessly. Rabastan Lestrange appeared in the Ministry and offered the chance to surrender, they took it and the ground troops went in. They were gathering the wizards and witches for an address, gathering up the muggles and branding them, separating them from their families from what I saw too. I don't know what the plans were there. And they were raising the dead as Inferi, they must have an army by now. And then I got away," Leila told him quietly and blinked back tears before moving her wrist to draw his attention to the golden bracelet that he recognized vaguely, "I used this."

"It transported you back to Egypt, they didn't know to protect against it."

"Exactly and they've been trying to kill me ever since. I got away but my child was left behind," Leila admitted and Roman jolted in shock at her having a child, that he didn't remember, "I don't know if he's even still alive but until I know better, I'm fighting to save him."

"I don't remember you having a son," Roman pointed out as his fingers froze, wondering if she had met someone else or worse, he had another child he'd neglected and also didn't remember. Was he just awful?

"He was born after. January 24th 2016, three AM on the dot... I named him Cyrus."

"And his father?"

"His father left me," Leila told him after a moment's hesitation and Roman relaxed slightly, at least it wasn't him. And he was somewhat glad she didn't have someone else, although he did feel sad for her lousy love life. What idiot would leave her and their child? Except for him anyway.

"I'm sorry," Roman offered gently and kissed the top of her head as he rubbed her shoulder soothingly, "It's his loss."

"Don't worry about it, you have enough on your plate."

"I'm sure Varanian would be willing to help you save your son."

"Only if he knows who the hell the Shadow Master had Polyjuiced into," Leila pointed out with a sigh.

"I know that," Roman confirmed and her head shot up to look at him desperately, "Marius Calderon, he's the assistant at Hogwarts."

"Are you sure?"

"A hundred percent, plenty of saw him who can identify he was using Calderon and they had him prisoner a few years ago when they took some hairs. The real Calderon was testing a Power Repressing Potion in the Ministry at the time so they know for sure it wasn't really him, plus he's done a lot to fight them in the past," Roman told her and relief flooded her face.

"Thank you," Leila offered, sounding so grateful as she leaned in to capture his lips in a passionate kiss. He savored the taste of her lips against his before she pulled away, jumping up and scrambling to get dressed.

"What are- Where are you going?" Roman asked her worriedly as he sat up, awkwardly with his injured shoulder.

"I have things to do. You go back to your hideout and just focus on getting better."

"Why not come with me? Varanian and the others, they can help with... with whatever you think you know."

"Maybe some other time," Leila shook her head as she finished dressing and started pulling on her shoes, "I don't help with this and I could be wrong anyway, I'd rather not drag other people into it until I am sure."

"I don't... I don't care, drag away," Roman said pleadingly, his heart twisting up in fear at the thought of her leaving him. She finished tying her laces and gave him a sympathetic smile.

"I'm sorry, Rome. Your shoulder is still pretty bad, you need to rest up," Leila told him and gave him another kiss, "Maybe when I know for sure, you'll have recovered but for now its better I go on alone. We will see each other again."

"Leila, please," Roman begged desperately but she disapparated with a crack, he hung his head sadly. Feeling suddenly very alone and very cold again.

* * *

**Part 5: **Fallen

* * *

"Why did you let her go?!" Varanian demanded of Roman in frustration, Roman had returned and had just finished telling him how he'd been injured but Leila Akram had saved him. After a week of being feverish, he'd been able to talk to her. Instead of finding out what she knew, he'd just told her what she wanted to know - which apparently was who the Shadow Master had been Polyjuiced into for some reason - then she'd left. Without telling him what she knew or how to contact or anything.

"It's a free country," Roman protested defensively, "What did you expect me to do?! Stop her? Attack the woman who'd just saved my life with a wand I didn't even know where it was at the time?!"

"I don't know! Try talking to her!? Try not giving her information until we know why she wants it!? For all we know, she went mad from seeing the Scepter and wants to hurt Marius or something!"

"Leila is a good person," Roman snapped oddly protectively and jumped up to his feet, "She's a decent person just doing the best she can to try her young son."

"And you know that from all the ten minutes you spent talking to her?" Varanian wondered irritably and Roman shifted in place.

"Yes, yes I do. So can you get Annie to look at my shoulder now? It's painful and it keeps bleeding."

"Annie's not here, it's her day off," Wyatt pointed out helpfully through a mouthful of gummy worms and Varanian only felt his frustration increase, "Do you want a gummy worm? Or for me to go get her?"

"I'll get her," Varanian decided, wanting some air, "And if Akram shows up again, don't let her go without finding out what she knows!"

"Yes, on the likely chance that will happen then we will do that," Wyatt quipped sarcastically and Varanian chose to ignore it as he left.

Varanian was glad Roman was alright but he'd really been hoping for more, the situation in Greece was dire and if that woman knew something that could help then he really needed to know. Scrambled mind or not, Roman knew how important it was to stop the Shadows and he should have found out what she knew instead of just letting her go. He supposed he shouldn't be surprised, Roman's people skills hadn't been the best even before his soul had been damaged so he really shouldn't have expected him to convince her to tell them what they knew or even stay. Since when was Roman so trusting of total strangers anyway? He sighed and tried to calm himself although that was also hard, why Annie insisted on still having a 'day off' was beyond him. Or rather, why she spent it staying in the same apartment as the brother in league with a rogue Specter. He changed his appearance when he was far enough away from the base to disparate to outside the apartment, he knocked loudly on the door.

"Jack's not home!" Annie's sleepy voice called from inside.

"I'm not here for Jack, it's me," Varanian told her.

"Go away! It's my day off."

"It's important!"

"Come back tomorrow!"

"I'm not going to-" Varanian started to insist before deciding to risk simply apparating inside and Annie jolted in surprise, "-Come back tomorrow."

The first thing he noticed was the stench of alcohol, he wrinkled his nose at it while heading over to Annie. It was an open plan living kind of room with a small kitchen wedged in the corner, an island counter also off to the side. There was a brown couch by a small coffee table in between that and the television set, the table was buried in bottles. He was shocked to see an assortment of muggle liquor bottles, the cheap beer Annie drank around him and larger - and stronger - whiskey bottles, all of which were empty. Annie was lying on her front on the couch, her head half off the edge over a small bin and her arm dangling with a bottle of bourbon.

"D'ya have to do that so loud?" Annie complained, cringing presumably at the crack sound apparation caused.

"How much did you have to drink?!" Varanian demanded of her.

"Mm... hm... erm... Alcohol," Annie said with a vague gesture to the bottles.

"You can't drink this much!"

"Already did. Now stop talking so loud and go away."

"I can talk as loud as I want, if you didn't want a headache then you shouldn't be hung over," Varanian chided her and went over to clean up the bottles, shoving them into the trash can and snatching the one from her hand. She groaned at the sound of them clinking while he carried the bin over to dump into the larger one in the kitchen, "You can't drink this much, it's seriously unhealthy."

"Please go away?" Annie pleaded as he came back over to her with the empty basket.

"No, I need you," Varanian pointed out and Annie's tired eyes flicked open for the first time as he replaced the basket, "Roman's back but he's injured his shoulder so you need to come look at him."

"Can't it wait?" Annie complained as she closed her eyes again.

"No, no it can't. Come on," Varanian insisted stubbornly and pulled her limp body into a sitting position, she looked sickly pale and her head lolled listlessly, "Why did you do this to yourself?"

"I'm going... going to be sick," Annie mumbled and shakily tried to reach the bin.

Varanian grabbed it for her and brought it to her just in time for to throw up into it, the smell of vomit mingling with the still smothering stench of alcohol was rather repulsive. Yet he stayed by her, holding the bin in one hand gently rubbing soothing circular motions on her back until it seemed like the wave of nausea had passed and she collapsed against him weakly. He was starting to wonder whether he should take her to a doctor or something, he didn't really have experience with hung over people but he'd never been that bad.

"Thanks," Annie muttered quietly as she pulled away and stood on trembling legs, dragging her feet in the direction of the kitchen, "But you know you shouldn't help people with hangovers, if you're prepared to pay the price for drinking then you shouldn't be doing it."

"You shouldn't be doing it anyway," Varanian pointed out as he put down the bin and stood himself as Annie reached the sink to wash up, "You have got to take better care of yourself."

"I was taking care of myself," Annie protested as she finished and staggered away unsteadily from the sink, rubbing her head as he approached her incredulously.

"How in the world is that taking care of yourself?!"

"I was lying on my stomach so if I threw up when I passed out then I wouldn't aspirate on my own vomit and die. See? I had it covered."

"That's not taking care of yourself, you're a wreck!" Varanian insisted, somewhere between worried and angered while she reached for the refrigerator.

"It's just a hangover, I'll be fine when I get some beer in me," Annie pointed out as she withdrew a bottle of beer and opened it, he snatched it away from her immediately and put it on the island counter which earned him a scowl, "Hey."

"You don't need a drink, you need to _not_ drink. You're an alcoholic."

"I know, I surpass the recommended daily alcoholic unit intake even on days I don't drink so much but I'm a functioning alcoholic so it really doesn't matter. Give me the bottle."

"I'm not giving you the bottle! And you're not functioning."

"It's my day off and I believe I did tell you to _go away_," Annie insisted as she reached for the bottle herself but he just moved it further away, she rolled her eyes, "Pip, I'm thirty-five years old and I'm perfectly entitled to drink if I want to."

"I don't care," Varanian told her strictly, "It's bad for your health and bad for your magic, you have to stop drinking."

"_Accio bottle_," Annie said as she whipped out her wand, the bottle shot obediently to her hand and she smirked triumphantly as she took a gulp, "Haha! I win."

"You didn't win, you lost. It's only hurting yourself."

"Exactly, it's only hurting _me_ and I don't care about myself. The gain outweighs the cost," Annie pointed out, sounding serious, "If I get sick then it's a price I'm willing to pay and if I die then good, I don't have to exist anymore."

"What do you possibly gain from drinking?!" Varanian demanded of her and she paused in sipping her beer.

"Life sucks, it takes the edge off," Annie admitted after a moment of thought, "Plus I can finally get some sleep when I pass out."

"So what if life sucks? You don't crawl into a bottle and forget it, you have to get through it and save drinking for special occasions like Christmas."

"I love how you just agreed with me about life being terrible," Annie commented in amusement as she sipped the beer again.

"Well sometimes it is, usually it is but you still have to keep fighting," Varanian offered lamely but truthfully, not sure what he was supposed to say here to help her.

"I am fighting, just with a beer in my hand. I also found out something interesting, Jack's doctor called while I was here. The one he saw after I broke his nose and he is desperate for Jack to return for more tests because apparently his temperature is beneath the normal levels, he should be suffering from mild to moderate hypothermia right now but he's not."

"You're just trying to change the subject," Varanian complained.

"I know, I wasn't trying to be subtle. It's interesting regardless though, I was going to tell you tomorrow. You know, when it's not my day off."

"Well it's not going to work, you need to stop drinking," Varanian insisted and plucked the bottle from her fingers, "Please, Annie."

"Well that's not going to work, you need to stop nagging me about drinking," Annie countered and took the bottle back, he let her take it defeatedly. He couldn't force her to not drink, he'd need another way, "I'm going to do it whether you like it or not, you can either accept it or waste more time arguing with me when Roman's injured his shoulder or whatever you were saying. Next time just go away when I tell you to."

* * *

Scorpius was in a good mood after spending some time with Molly, despite everything she was something good in his life and they even managed to make out without him panicking. He was dreading next year when she'd be graduated, or worse if his father was right about how she'd break up with him with she left Hogwarts. He tried not to worry about that though, they wouldn't have to think about it for a while yet. It was back to the grind though, the weather was piercingly cold and he thought the Christmas decorations might at least have given some feeling of warmth to the icebox that was Hogwarts. Everyone was studying for the End of Term Tests, they weren't very popular especially since Rutherford had decided to put them on during the weekend to avoid getting in the way of their normal class schedules.

On Saturday, First Years had their examinations while Second Years got the day off while on Sunday the First Years had the day off and the Second Years had their examinations. Third through Fifth Years had examinations for the core subjects on Saturday and elective examinations on Sunday while Sixth and Seventh Years had examinations for electives on Saturday and examinations for core subjects on Sunday. Although Scorpius supposed they did get some breaks, not everyone was doing every subject.

All of the exams were purely written, teachers had to deduce a practical grade from lessons with the exception of Astronomy to add to the results of the written work. That would be written but they would have telescopes for it and it would be at night, Third through Fifth Years and First had that on Saturday night while Second, Sixth and Seventh had it on Sunday. It made Scorpius feel oddly sympathetic to the Astronomy teacher, Professor Koray. First through Fifth Years only had it once a night but one for each weekday, he knew Latimer had it every week night as well at NEWT level and considering that there had to be a class for both Sixth and Seventh Years meant he had to stay up at least three hours in the middle of the every week night.

They got the results back the following week, everyone had been graded on the OWL and NEWT grading system instead of percentages like Scorpius had been back in Second Year. He'd kind of missed the end of year exams most years with everything going on. Rutherford had also added plus or minuses by the grades, a plus indicating they were close to attaining the higher grade if they worked a little harder and the minus indicating they were close to attaining the lower grade so they needed to work harder to avoid that. You could also get a star by the O, indicating your mark was incredibly high.

_End of Term Examination Results for **Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy**_

_Astronomy: E+_

_Care of Magical Creatures: O_

_Charms: O-_

_Defense Against the Dark Arts: O*_

_Divination: E+_

_Herbology: E+_

_History of Magic: A_

_Potions: E+_

_Study of Ancient Runes: O_

_Transfiguration: O_

Scorpius thought his results were pretty decent, mostly Os and Es and he was quite pleased with his star for Defense Against the Dark Arts. Which was good considering he was fighting the Shadows, he thought it also just proved that you didn't need to obsessively study to pass and simply pay attention in class. His friends had generally done alright as well, no one was failing everything at least. Of course everyone looked poor compared to Maurice, he'd gotten Outstanding with stars for every single subject much to Rose's chagrin as she got no stars. Scorpius wasn't surprised though, Maurice had essentially been in schooling for as long as he could remember - regardless that it was in part the Shadow school - so it made sense he knew a lot. In fact, his results were so good that he got an owl from Rutherford wanting to see him to discuss them for some reason.

"I think he's probably using it as a cover just to get you alone," Scorpius pointed out as they sat in the Library, working on their homework and counting down the minutes until Maurice had his meeting with Rutherford. Rose and Corin were in detention, Molly and Latimer on their Care of Magical Creatures project, Vern and Albus were both with their girlfriends, Michael and Abby were in the Common Room working on Arithmancy homework because Abby preferred it to ensure she didn't run the risk of seeing Albus with Grozda so it was just him, Orous and Maurice, "Because he can't when you're with Carver in those detentions."

"And?" Maurice questioned of him with a raised eyebrow, "I'm capable of defending myself from him, obviously as I have already done so for your detentions. Not going would just worsen things. I'm more concerned he's just going to accuse me of cheating and give me another strike."

"Hey Maurice, ready for my practice?" Lorcan asked as he came over to them, looking as tired as ever but his amber eyes were sharp as knives and his wand was held in his hand already.

"Oh, sorry Lorcan. I can't."

"Dammit! You've just been blowing me off all year, how am I ever supposed to be able to protect myself if you won't teach me?!" Lorcan burst out in frustration, "The Shadows are coming, they could come at any moment and having a girlfriend isn't going to magically keep them away!"

"Look, Rutherford wants to see me and I don't have a choice," Maurice offered defensively as Lorcan slumped down into a seat unhappily, "I don't know how long it'll take but if I get back with enough time before dinner then we can work on your training, alright? It's not my fault this time. And I'm staying over Christmas so we can we'll have plenty of time to back then."

"Alright," Lorcan sighed resignedly as Maurice stood.

"Wait, you're not coming home for Christmas?" Orous wondered, looking hurt but Maurice either didn't notice or ignored him as he stood to leave and let go of his translator necklace as he did so.

"I'll see you guys late. Wish me luck."

"Good luck," Lorcan muttered as Maurice left, the younger boy's eyes darting suspiciously around the Library as he did so.

"You know, Lorcan, I really don't doubt that the war's in full effect," Scorpius began hesitantly but felt bad that the boy was so on edge, Lorcan glanced at him as he spoke, "But I don't think we're in imminent danger, for starters the main action is happening in Greece right now. You can relax a bit, you know?"

"I know but I _can't_. I physically can't relax."

"I'd recommend Quidditch, always relaxes me," Orous offered and Scorpius nodded in agreement, "Or you could just go home for the holidays, have fun with your family."

"Last Christmas I accidentally lit my Dad's hands on fire when he tried to hug me and now he hates me, so does my brother," Lorcan pointed out bitterly, "My family live in the clouds anyway, airy fairy and out of touch with reality. I'm fallen to the harsh grounds of reality, I'm not one of them now. I'd rather stay here alone, they'll have more fun without me there to fuck things up."

"Parents never understand, it doesn't mean they don't love you and wouldn't like to see you," Scorpius told him and Lorcan gave him an odd look.

"They love the old Lorcan, they don't love _me_. They're afraid of me really, almost everyone is because I tend to destroy things accidentally with magic. Like my Dad's hands."

"It... It gets easier."

"Eventually," Orous added and Lorcan looked between them both.

"You know I... I worked up the courage to let my Dad hug me to make it up to him and psyched myself up for it but he wouldn't touch me. He hates me now," Lorcan admitted with a sad sigh and Scorpius recalled what he'd seen on the platform, feeling sympathetic to the boy, "So how's err... V?"

"We call him Aaron when we're talking about him in public."

"How's Aaron then?"

"Still recovering but he's doing okay, getting back out there and doing stuff," Scorpius said vaguely, Varanian had at least broken into the Ministry so he had to be on the right track.

"Can you ask him if I can be a part of his group?" Lorcan asked almost pleadingly, "I know I'm young but I want to stop them and I want to help him, the Shadows should be stopped and his name should be cleared."

"No. Aaron doesn't have a group," Scorpius pointed out and Lorcan scowled, Scorpius held up his hands, "I'm not trying to screw with you, he can't or won't accept he has a group right now. But if and when he does, I'll ask him for you. We need as many people as we can on our side really, the Shadows already outnumber us a zillion to one."

"Alright," Lorcan nodded before jolting to his feet and jabbed his wand defensively in the direction of a thud, Scorpius glanced and saw some girl had accidentally dropped a book which was the source of the noise, "I'm going to go back to the Common Room where its quieter and it's safer, there's not so many bookshelves to hide behind and there's a seat where you can see all of the doorways to keep your eyes open for attackers. Tell Maurice to knock for me if he gets back."

"No problem," Orous agreed before Lorcan left, "Sometimes I worry about him."

"Yeah," Scorpius admitted and recalled his concern for Antonius, he'd only seen him in class or at dinner so he hadn't had a chance to talk to him yet but then he had been busy being dragged into studying with his friends. He'd told Maurice to stop encouraging him and told Orous to speak to him though, "Have you talked to Antonius yet?"

"He says he's fine."

"And you believe him?"

"I can't force him to talk to me, Scorpius," Orous protested and Scorpius realized his tone might have been more accusing then he'd meant it to be.

"Sorry. I know that, I just figured he'd be more open with you since you both had your souls damaged."

"He clammed up as soon as he started living in Hogwarts."

"Oh, I didn't know that," Scorpius realized and Orous have a semi-shrug.

"There was actually something I wanted to talk to you about since you've seen Roman and all," Orous began and Scorpius glanced back to him in surprise, Orous shifted nervously, "I wondered if... if maybe he'd like to spend Christmas with us. He saved Cade's life, he's not going to turn him in or anything and... and even though Cade will always be my Dad, Roman... Roman isn't so bad and I'd like... like to maybe have a relationship with him too if he'd like to, of course. I mean, he may not want to considering who are mother is and what she did t him. I know his mind's probably pretty shot still as well but that's all the more reason to spend time with him, I know what he's going through, you know?"

"Is Cade okay with this?"

"I don't know, it's something I feel should be talked about in person and obviously I'm not going to see him for another week and a day. I think he'd be okay with it, he's a decent guy. I just hope he doesn't think I want to replace him or anything," Orous explained and shifted yet again as the volume in his voice got ever lower, "That's why I wanted Maurice to be there too. My family is pretty... pretty well... fucked up to hell, you know if you think about. But maybe we can... we can try to make the best of it, me, Cade, Maurice and Roman. Stick together and... and get along and all."

"Well I can ask him, I don't know what he'll say though. And I'm not seeing him on Saturday when we go to Hogsmeade, I'm spending time with my girlfriend."

"Fair enough, I'll be on a date with Lily too."

"How's things going with her?"

"Pretty good, I think," Orous told him with the ghost of a smile on his colorless face, "She's kind of bubbly when she's not being nervous which is good because I'm not... not the most, she's nice. We often go on walks together around the grounds and talk, its cold so we don't have to worry about Albus or James seeing us and getting annoyed although she's not worried about her brothers. I even worked up the courage to hold her hand so we started doing that, it's kind of nice."

"Good for you," Scorpius offered and returned the smile while Orous' nervousness returned.

"I haven't kissed her yet though, I'm kind of afraid to. I don't know when the right time is or if she wants to or if I'll do it right or if it will be awkward for me."

"Well... just... just do what feels natural, I can't really advise you there," Scorpius pointed out as Maurice returned to his surprise, sitting down with them and putting a hand to his necklace, "How did it go?"

"He wants me to take the Fifth Year End of Term Exams and see how I do, he says I'm very advanced for my age and if I do well he wants to do an experiment with skipping a year," Maurice explained and both of them blinked in shock.

"Skip a year?"

"Yeah, for the next term I'd be in Fifth Year with you guys to see how I do. If I do well on these exams on Sunday anyway and he'd need to get Cade in to agree to it."

"Well that's... odd," Orous said finally before Lorcan rushed over to them, holding a wireless.

"Guys! Have you heard this?!" Lorcan demanded of them and didn't wait for an answer before slamming the radio down, cranking up the volume for them to hear.

"_-announced that Greece has fallen. After months of a long and arduous battle, the cobbled leadership of the final Greek district sent out word of their intent to surrender to the Soul Eaters before facing the same destructive force the rest of the country has suffered. The decision to surrender is believed to be a joint decision from both muggle and magical leaders, it can only be guessed at now as attempts to communicate with Greece were met with silence. Until an hour ago when Lieutenant Rabastan Lestrange, who appears to be the spokesperson for the Soul Eaters, announced over radio that Greece was entirely under Soul Eater control and advises the rest of the world consider surrender because this is not the end_."


	8. Chapter 8: Rise and Fall

_**Parts (30-33)**_

* * *

**V  
**

**Chapter 8  
**

Rise and Fall

* * *

**Part 1: **Barging In

* * *

The news of Greece falling certainly put a damper on the Christmas spirit, there was widespread concern again for the Shadow War and the fact now the Shadows had Greece they could target anywhere next. Including England. Maurice wasn't worried though, he figured the Shadows would wait a bit to organize the newly conquered Greece before starting out on their next target. There were millions of people in Greece after all, or there had been. They didn't really have any way of knowing how many had died or would die, for all he knew the Shadows were just slaughtering everyone. It was almost unbelievable really but as Maurice pointed out, the Shadows had targeted the major cities and leadership for the same reason they wanted to take out the Shadow Master. Nothing would be done without leaders, the general population were almost like sheep needing to be led.

Scorpius was both angered and upset by it, angry Greece had been under siege for months. Months. Plenty of time for the rest of the world to step up and do something to help them, to stop them falling. But they hadn't, they'd just left the country to rot. And he was upset because it was at least partially his fault, after all he'd been the one to revive the Shadow Master and he'd been the one to fail to completely destroy the Scepter and stop it falling into Voldemort's son's hands. The Shadow Master had walked away and Scorpius hadn't been able to stop him. Debate on what to do was all over the news, both the muggle and magical world were in turmoil from it. People were in different minds over whether to be building up defenses, launching an attack themselves before they became the next target for the Shadows or trying to open up communication with the Shadows to come to a diplomatic solution or even an alliance.

They also had the added trouble of trying to stop muggles from doing the same thing, they couldn't let them get involved with the magical war after all. But at the same time, the Shadows had taken over Greece. Not just the wizarding population, the whole country which obviously included muggles. And the muggles also wanted to be doing things, even though the leadership was privy to the knowledge of magic the general populace weren't and were demanding answers they couldn't be given. The magical government were concerned by this of course, keeping the secret of magic was more important than combating the Shadows and if the muggles went in to attack then they were going to find out. There was also concern for what the Shadows would do, they certainly made it sound like they weren't going to be content with Greece like people had stupidly hoped and they were afraid they wouldn't be able to keep the secret of magic contained forever if the war spread.

The whole thing really made Scorpius' concerns about anything else seem trivial in comparison, why should he be pleased with his results from Rutherford's stupid end of term exams when an entire country had been overrun? He was in a sullen mood the rest of the week and rather wished it wasn't a Hogsmeade weekend because he'd rather stay in the castle and mope like Michael had decided to do. Plus there was about a foot of snow out and it was still snowing. It was strange going to Hogsmeade, in contrast to the bleak Hogwarts they had put up Christmas decorations and there was a large tree in the center of the town. It ended up not being so bad though, Molly managed to draw him from his worries and they relaxed as they had drinks in the Hog's Head like old times. He didn't even notice the poor state of the place now, they also tried out the food in one of the cafes and explored the shops for a bit. He was in better spirits as they headed back to the castle and shared a lingering kiss before parting ways, Molly wanted to bathe before dinner because of the snow while Scorpius felt a change of clothes would suffice. Michael was lying on his bed with books scattered around him when he reached the dormitory, as if he'd been studying but he put them aside when he saw him.

"Did you have fun on your date?" Michael asked him conversationally as Scorpius removed his leather jacket, it was actually remarkably good at protecting him from the elements.

"Yeah, it was nice," Scorpius told him as he sat on his bed to remove his soaked shoes, "You should've come."

"On your date?" Michael wondered jokingly, "Don't you think that would've been a little odd?"

"I didn't mean on the date with me and Molly, obviously."

"I know and this may be difficult for you to understand but I don't like Hogsmeade, it just reminds me of bad things and I'd rather not go if I don't have to. I can buy presents over the break and studying here is more productive then listening to Rose run down Lenore."

"You know, if you went on a date with Rose then she might not care so much about Lenore," Scorpius pointed out and Michael rolled his eyes.

"This may also be difficult for you to understand but I'm not dating, I'm a werewolf and it was a mistake to date Mirra in the first place."

"I know, I know," Scorpius offered and held up his hands in surrender while Michael sighed.

"Actually, there's... there's something I need to talk to you about," Michael admitted as he pulled himself into a sitting position, "Before the full moon in a few days, I'd rather not be weakened and I'd rather you hear it from me. But erm... please promise me that you're not going to freak out."

"Usually people say that right before saying something that would freak the listener out."

"It's nothing to freak out about," Michael insisted while Scorpius remained unconvinced as the werewolf took another breath, "It's nothing really, nothing to worry about. At all. It's just Rutherford."

"Well now I'm freaked out already. He didn't try to read your mind, did he?" Scorpius demanded of him and Michael shook his head.

"No, nothing like that. At the first full moon since the school year started, Rutherford just... suggested that it might be a good idea for me to be somewhere safer during the full moon."

"Safer?"

"Yes, safer... Like being chained up and locked away in a cell in the dungeons so that I couldn't accidentally hurt anyone," Michael told him in a light tone as if trying not to make a big deal out of it, Scorpius tried very hard to stay calm despite the rage bubbling up inside.

"You mean so you couldn't hurt anyone but yourself?!" Scorpius tried to say but it came out as more of a snap that had Michael roll his eyes, "That's why you keep attacking yourself this year isn't it? That's why you keep getting so hurt? And all this time I was mad at Marigold."

"Marigold hates it but since I am _one hundred percent willing_, it's alright so he can't stop it."

"No, it's not alright!" Scorpius gave in and yelled as he stood, "It is not alright for Rutherford to lock you up like an animal!"

"On the full moon I _am_ an animal!"

"You're on Wolfsbane! You're within your own mind! Rutherford has no right to do this to you, you're getting hurt!"

"So fucking what if he hurts me?!" Michael shot back and jumped his feet as well, pulling off his shirt to reveal his surprisingly toned but scarred physique. He still had the bite mark from Greyback on his shoulder, the Tiwaz blood rune arrow engraved across his chest, numerous scars from being mauled from both Greyback and - presumably - himself as well as his showing off the entirety of the burn scars on his left arm, wrist and hand, "Look at me, Scorpius! Look at me! I've already been hurt, I've already been scarred and that's on top of the years of Bob beating the crap out of me and the agony of transforming into that beast every month! So the hell what if I get hurt?! It's nothing I haven't already been through, I'm so damaged that it doesn't even matter anymore what happens to me. Who cares? It's safer for the rest of the world this way."

"I care!" Scorpius protested as Michael started pulling his shirt back on, "And you should too and you should see that this is wrong! Locking up werewolves on the full moon is something that PAW would want!"

"There's an entire school at risk!"

"How is the school at risk?! You take Wolfsbane!"

"And so what if one time it's not brewed correctly?! Or I develop an immunity?! Or it gets tampered with?! Things can go wrong!"

"You're being paranoid! Rutherford has filled your head with crap!" Scorpius yelled determinedly and Michael rolled his eyes yet again, "It's wrong to want to lock people up!"

"I'm not a person, I'm a werewolf!" Michael screamed at him and Scorpius tried to reel back his anger, he needed to make Michael see sense not piss him off.

"Werewolves are people too! You know Leebin's son was born a werewolf? I saw him in the hospital when my brother was born, he's a baby and he's a werewolf. Do you think they should lock him up too!? Do you think they should chain up an infant- I can't even finish that sentence, it's just sick!"

"I'm not an infant, I'm a man!"

"Hitting puberty doesn't make you a man! You're still a child... adolescent... kid... type person..." Scorpius trailed off as Michael gave him an odd look, he realized he might have phrased that wrong, "My point is that you're still a student and Rutherford's obligated to protect you as well! Not manipulate you into this!"

"Scorpius, my parents were my age when they got pregnant with me. If that's old enough to have the responsibility of a child then its old enough to decide what measures I want to take to protect people from me! It's a sacrifice I'm willing to take!"

"Stop taking bloody sacrifices! It's completely unnecessary," Scorpius insisted firmly, still trying to calm himself as he thought of something, "Where did you spend all the full moons last year? The ones in Hogwarts anyway."

"In the Hospital Wing with Marigold," Michael admitted, looking slightly confused by either the direction of the conversation or the lapse in volume.

"What does he do then?"

"He usually would give me something to try ease the pain a bit and something to relax me so I'm not so riled up to accidentally hurt myself, plus it's easier to get to sleep. He'd sit and talk with me for a while until he thought I was alright or if I fell asleep then get on with things, stay awake in case I needed him," Michael told him, "What's that got to do with anything?"

"Do you think Marigold would do any of that if he thought he was in that much danger from you? Does that even sound like people are in danger from you?" Scorpius asked of him seriously and Michael averted his eyes, his voice barely audible.

"Things could still go wrong, its better this way."

"It's insane this way!" Scorpius snapped again in frustration, "You don't need to sacrifice your health and safety! Would you want another werewolf student locked up?!"

"Of course not!"

"Why, Michael?! Because you know it's wrong?! Why one rule for you and one rule for everyone else?! Do you just think you're perfect?! Do you think you're flawless?! Do you just think you're better than everyone else?!"

"Of course I don't!" Michael yelled at him angrily, "But not everyone tore out someone else's throat while a werewolf! I murdered Greyback! In a violent, disturbing and disgusting way! Because there is a dark part of myself that terrifies me I don't think there's anything wrong by letting myself be locked up to prevent anything like that happening again!"

"Well there you go again, thinking that you're above the rest of humanity! Everyone has a dark side! Not just werewolves! _Everyone!_ From sweet little Cassia ordering birds to gouge out eyes and rip through necks to soldier boy Maurice unashamedly using Dark Magic!" Scorpius shouted at him seriously, "We are all capable of good and evil, we all have both inside of us and it's the choices we make that decide who we are! Doing one bad thing doesn't make you evil and deserving of being locked up, it just makes you human!"

"Why did I decide to tell you?" Michael groaned as he put his face in his hands while Scorpius threw his up in exasperation.

"I don't know, why did you even tell me?!"

"Because Lenore threatened to tell you if I didn't!" Michael told him, much to Scorpius' surprise, "She found out about it while she was in the Hospital Wing after her allergic reaction, she said she'd tell you by the next full moon if I didn't. She also thinks it's wrong."

"Maybe because it _is_ wrong!" Scorpius protested in frustration, "Although she has gone up in my estimations now."

"Hey guys! Guys! Guess what!" Albus exclaimed excitedly as he burst in, holding a camera and grinning obliviously to their argument, "I got a camera!"

"Now's not a great time."

"I wanted some pictures of Grozda to take home so I can show my parents their future daughter-in-law. Plus I noticed Abby's seemed kind of down lately and in First Year she wanted a scrapbook or something but in the wake of Varanian, kind of forgot so I figured that for Christmas I could make her a scrapbook of photos of her friends and stuff to cheer her-"

"That's great, see you later."

Scorpius stalked over to the door, patting a confused Albus apologetically on the shoulder as he left. He was getting nowhere with Michael so he figured he might do better confronting the mastermind manipulating Michael instead, the person he really was angry at. Rutherford. He was walking so fast he was almost surprised he wasn't running before he reached Rutherford's office, barging in without so much as knocking and storming over to Rutherford. Thankfully he was sitting at his desk and was alone.

"Ah, Mr Malfoy, just the person I want to-"

"I know what you're doing to Michael!" Scorpius interrupted in fury before Rutherford could finish his sentence, "Locking him up like that is wrong and I demand you stop!"

"Is that so?" Rutherford sneered as he stood, revealing the wand in his hand that caused the door behind him to slam and click shut as if locked before the wand turned on him and Scorpius barely had time to brace his mind, "_Legilimens!_"

While his Occlumency skills had been improving, Scorpius still went with the cycling technique that Varanian had taught him because he had much more faith in that. And it worked, he sang the rhyme over and over again in his head as he jumped between the two memories. He felt Rutherford's prescience but decided to not try to push him out considering what had happened with Varanian, he could practically feel Rutherford's frustration though. Or maybe he _was_ actually feeling Rutherford's frustration. He didn't know and couldn't risk distracting himself by thinking about it more as he sang inside his mind. Finally Rutherford seemed to leave him and Scorpius found himself lying on the floor, breathing heavily like Rutherford was. Except Rutherford was standing and strode around the desk with an enraged expression to try again. And again.

"Stop that, Malfoy!" Rutherford snapped at him in frustration, "What are you even doing?! How are you even doing that!?"

"Well maybe you shouldn't try to read other student's minds," Scorpius told him breathlessly, trying not to feel pleased with himself but failing despite the ache now inside his head and a smug smile crept onto his face while Rutherford's nostrils flared.

"Get out!" Rutherford yelled at him angrily instead, grabbing him by an arm and hauling him to his feet. Scorpius was half thrown towards the door that clicked and opened at Rutherford's wand gesture.

"But Michael-"

"Your friend agrees to it so I'm in the right here and it's not going to change! And you're getting a minor offense for this intrusion!" Rutherford barked as he pushed Scorpius out, slamming the door shut behind him.

Scorpius wasn't sure how much time had passed in there but it was certainly darker now, he rubbed his head which now had the song stuck it in it as well before pulling out the map. Michael and Rutherford may be unreasonable but he'd be damned if he wasn't going to find a way to put a stop to it, he may be doing terribly at stopping with the war but he could at least stop this. And that probably meant Maurice, if anyone knew a way to get around this - and if Rutherford was telling the truth - then it was Maurice. He found his dot in his preferred room with who else but Lenore and headed off there instead, he went to barge in there too but the door was locked.

"_Alohomora_," Scorpius cast irritably before coming in anyway, they were again cuddled up on the couch together, "Why was the door locked?!"

"Because you have a habit of barging in without knocking looking for Maur's advice despite my informing you of the cultural habit of knocking, it was rather tedious," Lenore pointed out and he rolled his eyes at her, "Would you like to talk to him outside again while I wait here like a rock?"

"No, you can stay."

"Oh good, because I can't do my favorite pastime of watching the grass grow with all this snow in the way."

"Michael told me about Rutherford," Scorpius told her and her expression became more severe to indicate her understanding while Maurice looked somewhat confused, Scorpius turned to him next to speak rapidly, "On the full moon, Rutherford's taking Michael to be chained and locked up in the dungeons for his transformation. He's brainwashed Michael into thinking its okay and a good idea, I tried to convince him otherwise but it didn't work so I tried to confront Rutherford and he says it's okay because Michael's willing then tried to read my mind. He failed thanks to the cycling technique so not a big deal although it's good to know I can fight him off but not my point. My point is we need to stop him from hurting Michael. Any suggestions?"

"We could try memory modification," Maurice suggested after a moment's thought, "Although I haven't mentioned it before because it's risky on Legilimens or Occlumens because they're more used to minds, depending on how skilled they are they can protect their mind or realize something is different and even undo the spell. The skill of the caster also is a factor in this."

"Huh, I'm guessing Michael didn't tell you that Rutherford has the shackles so tight they dig into him?" Lenore offered casually.

"What?!" Scorpius demanded and the fire suddenly blazed with frightening intensity.

"There's always murder," Maurice offered and Scorpius started to feel annoyed he wasn't taking it seriously, that turned to concern however that Maurice

"You don't need to do anything so drastic, if I can weigh in?" Lenore spoke up and Scorpius gestured for her to go on, "Rutherford may be legally allowed to do this to Michael with his permission but that doesn't mean it's alright, affairs aren't illegal yet it's still a scandal if famous people are caught cheating. Lycanthropy is still an issue, the Ministry tries to keep a rather neutral stance of everyone's equal - which is bull crap of course - but they are opposed to locking werewolves up as it goes against their rights. If it got out that the official _Ministry_ attaché is locking up an innocent student and manipulating him into believing its okay... the backlash would be terrible, the werewolf supporters would be outraged, the Ministry would look terrible and the whole thing would flare up again. Inevitably, Rutherford would have to stop at the least and be fired at the most."

"Lorcan's mother does have that popular magazine and Albus' mother works at the _Daily Prophet_ so we could get the story out pretty easily."

"We don't really want to do that to Michael though," Scorpius pointed out, not wanting to put Michael into the public eye although he liked the sound of Rutherford being gone, "Plus it sounds like it would take a while."

"You don't have to do that, Malfoy," Lenore said with a smirk, "Rutherford will also be aware of this and not want it to happen, you just need to threaten to go to the papers and he should back off. And he can't say it's just a bunch of kids making up stuff because Marigold would back you up and he's an adult."

"Isn't that blackmail?"

"And blackmail is somehow more evil then murder because...?" Lenore prompted and gestured for him to continue.

"That's my girlfriend, the genius," Maurice said proudly and kissed Lenore enthusiastically.

"Alright," Scorpius agreed and the couple pulled apart, "The idea has merit and we can try it, come on you two."

"I'm not coming," Lenore scoffed while her boyfriend stood.

"Why not? It's your plan!"

"Yeah but showing Rutherford I'm against him makes me look bad to the Ministry and I don't want that."

"I thought you don't like the Ministry?!"

"I don't. I don't like bulls either but I don't go around waving red flags in front of them to piss them off because they could come after me or my uncle. It's hard enough without that."

"Whose side are you on?" Scorpius wondered of her incredulously while Lenore was unfazed.

"My own side, of course," Lenore said with a shrug as if it was obvious, "And the people I care about. Evil, huh?"

"Not at all," Maurice assured her and kissed her once more, "We'll tell you how it goes."

"And you might want to go to Elwood instead of Rutherford so he can't try to read your minds and all, he can tell Rutherford to back off for you and then you don't even have to face him. Password to his office is Grimmauld Place. Don't tell anyone I told you though, they might stop telling the Head Girl and Boy the passwords then."

"My lips are sealed," Maurice promised as he headed out with Scorpius, he sighed dreamily, "She's wonderful isn't she? So smart like that, and gorgeous. She's so sexy when she's talking about blackmailing the mean-spirited workers of a corrupt and insufficient Ministry that's too focused on its own self-protection and squabbling amongst themselves instead of the bigger issues like a war with a terroristic organization hell-bent on world domination already with a country in their pocket to help our friend."

"All guys think girls are sexy when the do that," Scorpius quipped sarcastically before Maurice could let go of his necklace, he blinked at Scorpius in surprise.

"Really?"

"No," Scorpius told him truthfully and Maurice let go of his necklace with a scowl, he actually wasn't sure what to make of Lenore now. He pushed it out of his mind as they reached the gargoyle though, "Grimmauld Place."

The gargoyle jumped out of the way immediately so he and Maurice could climb the ascending spiral staircase, Scorpius ready to knock but Maurice was the one who barged in without warning that time. Scorpius supposed it made sense, he didn't think Maurice's necklace would be able to pick up someone saying 'come in' from the other side of the door. Elwood was sitting idly at his desk but looked up as they approached, frowning at them as they strode over.

"Students aren't allowed to just come in here without permission," Elwood chastised them while Maurice gripped his necklace, "At the very least you knock."

"I'm deaf, I wouldn't be able to hear your permission," Maurice explained and slid into one of the chairs opposite Elwood without permission, the Headmaster's navy eyes bulged while Scorpius remained standing uncertainly beside him. Elwood sighed.

"Is this about him supposedly using Legilimency on you again?"

"No, it's about our friend. Michael Sanford, the werewolf your attaché is forcing to stay chained up in the dungeons," Maurice told him and Elwood jolted in surprise for a moment before his expression saddened.

"Mr Sanford agrees to the change in habit for his transformations, it's allowed if he's willing I'm afraid," Elwood pointed out, sounding rather unhappy about it.

"You don't like that, do you?" Scorpius asked of him.

"Honestly? No, no I don't," Elwood admitted solemnly, "But my hands are tied unless he does something illegal that can be proven, I've told you before. Headmaster is just an honorary title now."

"You admire Harry Potter, don't you?" Maurice inquired and Elwood nodded, looking surprised again.

"Yes, he's only the greatest hero the wizarding world has ever known."

"So you're aware of his wife?"

"Yes. Ginevra Molly Potter, nee Weasley who tends to go by 'Ginny' as a nickname for the first name."

"And what does she do for a living?"

"She played for the Holyhead Harpies for a time and is currently the Senior Quidditch Reporter for the _Daily Prophet_, so what?"

"Have you ever heard of the Quibbler?" Maurice questioned while Elwood's brow only furrowed further.

"Of course, I'm a long-time reader and I've had a subscription for years. What's your point, Mr Rivers?" Elwood asked of him instead and Maurice smiled a very cold smile.

"I'm good friends with Ginny Potter's son, Albus, and good friends with Luna Scamander's son, Lorcan."

"And?"

"And if I truly wanted a news story about a Ministry official chaining up a traumatized teen werewolf every month with binds so tight it cuts through the boy's flesh, then I could," Maurice told him in a deathly quiet voice as he leaned in, Elwood didn't look confused anymore and swallowed nervously. Scorpius was both impressed and disturbed by how good Maurice was at this, "Marigold and Michael's scars are more than enough evidence, you'll be able to read all about it soon enough."

"You'd make a good politician, my boy," Elwood said as he leaned back, taking a deep breathe, "I'll pass along this information to Rutherford, I assume I won't read the story if Mr Sanford returns to the Hospital Wing."

"That would be a correct assumption," Maurice assured him as he stood to leave, "Have a pleasant day, Headmaster."

* * *

**Part 2: **Going Home

* * *

_Sal hated being Azkaban, she hated everything about it. She hated being trapped, she hated feeling miserable, she hated the boredom, she hated the food, she hated the Dementors, she hated the other prisoners - since of them had tried to kill her brother after all - and she hated how she was stuck with a mother who didn't even like her. And most of all, she hated that they'd be seemingly stuck there for all eternity. Anything had to be better than the life they currently lived, whoever left people to rot like that must be sadistic monsters. Sal often fantasized about destroying Azkaban, obliterating it from world if her mother was right about there be more to the world then Azkaban. And if her mother was and Azkaban was the world then Sal wished she could destroy the world, dying couldn't possibly be worse than living there._

_She was standing by the bars, staring at out into the dark corridor which she usually did and drumming her fingers against the bars. Her mother was curled up on the bed rocking while Tommy did the same in his favorite corner beneath the window, both lost in their own misery from the Dementors or just the fact they hadn't been saved yet to go to Hogwarts. Sal was disappointed too but deep down, she hadn't truly believed they were getting out. You couldn't rely on people to save you, if no one had come yet then they probably never would and the only way out was to do it yourself. Their father was too busy being dead if he was even real at all. You had to be strong. Her mother said so, especially since they were the children of Voldemort after all and weren't supposed to be weak. She thought standing was stronger than just cowering in the dark, she hoped her father would approve. If he was real. Maybe he would like her more than her mother did._

_Sal liked feeling strong, it was nice not to feel weak and pathetic like her mother made her feel when she screamed at her or how Tommy made her feel with his explosions of magic that bound Shadows to her. She clung to the promise that she was great really, the sliver of hope there was more to her and to life then the endless imprisonment. Sometimes she started into One's eyes deliberately to see the deaths he'd caused, not because she enjoyed the screaming or dying but because just for the feeling of strength that she - or rather One - had the control, the power, the strength instead of being the small weak child with no freedom or control like she was. She wondered if that made her a bad person. She thought Tommy got that impression because she approved of One saving him from the prisoner who'd tried to kill him, she really didn't understand why. The Dementors had been doing nothing, either enjoying his pain or looking forward to the chance of the one who kept severing their Shadows to be gone and they'd grabbed her when she tried to help. Didn't he see he could've died? The man had been trying to kill him, clearly he was not a good person. Why should she care about a horrible man who'd been trying to kill her brother? One had done the right thing._

_She thought Tommy was unfairly harsh on One, they'd discovered something incredible. Terrifying yes, but incredible. One could destroy souls and move around freely, it wasn't bound by the prison walls like they were. He'd already taught it to speak and think, maybe they could get it to do other stuff. Maybe they could teach it to help them escape, steal the keys or take the three of them with it. She wasn't quite sure entirely what they were capable of, they didn't know but they could certainly learn. Tommy could get One to tell him things and you never know, one of those things could be how to be free from Azkaban, from the Shadows or both. Maybe she was wrong, she didn't know anything specific but he could still try. She'd try for him. And so what if she was wrong? It didn't change anything but what if she was right? It could change everything. She knew Tommy hated them, in truth she didn't like them either. But then she also didn't like the taste of the food, however she still ate it because you needed food to survive. Tommy was bound by One and the other Shadows anyway so why not make the best use out of them that you could? Maybe he'd be more open to it now his hopes were low._

_"SAL! STOP MAKING THAT NOISE!" her mother screamed at her._

_Sal lowered her hand lest her mother storm over and slap her, feeling frustration well up inside her again at the fact she couldn't even drum her fingers against the bars if she wanted too. She didn't even have the slightest bit of control over what she could and couldn't do, she hated it. She clenched her fists and gazed out in the corridor, if she ever did escape then she was going to be strong, so strong she could do what she wanted for once and that no one in the world could ever drag her or Tommy back to this hell hole ever again. They'd be free._

* * *

Scorpius was torn between feeling quite pleased with how things had gone with Rutherford and concerned that it was too easy, Rutherford didn't seem the type to give up easily. He figured that Rutherford might at least for the last week of term since it was such a short amount of time, however he certainly wouldn't be surprised if the attaché had thought of a way around it after that. Maurice had his Fifth Year exams the following day, literally all day outside of meals to be tested on all his subjects. He admitted Rutherford spoke to him afterwards and swore it wasn't over, that didn't help at all.

Michael was also barely speaking to him now, to all of them after they'd told the others. Although it was almost the full moon, he always was quiet and withdrawn then. Scorpius still thought there was more to it though, he didn't seem glad or grateful when Maurice told him about blackmailing Rutherford. He just pointed out blackmail was wrong and left rather quickly. He thought Michael would come around when he was thinking straight again though, without the full moon messing him up. He'd rather Michael be safe and mad then hurt and happy, Scorpius thought he might've gone too far and really Rutherford was the target of his rage but Michael had to understand that it was just because he cared about him and that it did matter what happens to him. It worked at any rate, Scorpius stayed up with the map and saw Michael did indeed stay in the Hospital Wing with Marigold all night. And in the morning, he wasn't suffering any new injuries and Marigold thanked him for 'whatever he had done.'

The final week was finally a week without excessive studying, as long as you had your last homework in then you were good to do whatever in your free time - except Rose and Corin who still had detentions - and classes were mostly easy things or revision. Professor Kresmir had them playing Christmas rune themed games like a crossword in runic with all Christmas related things, it was the closest to Christmas spirit in Hogwarts right then. Scorpius was glad for the spare time, he and Molly could actually have some time together which was always brilliant. He also made an effort to spend time to Calderon now he had time, still feeling bad for causing his meltdown. Calderon actually seemed tense around him at first but became more relaxed as time went on, talking about unimportant things and playing Wizard's chess. Scorpius wondered if he was a bad person for being extremely tempted to bring up Voldemort's son's identity again, he couldn't just forget that Calderon knew and the answers he wanted were locked somewhere in his cousin's fragile mind. He held off though, for Calderon's sake.

Albus was also on a kick with his new camera, obsessively and relentlessly wishing to photograph everyone and everything. He even did a scavenger hunt for Grozda using close up pictures of areas in Hogwarts as a clue for the next place until eventually leading to a dozen roses and a bracelet he'd gotten her, Scorpius could only sigh in wistful frustration that he hadn't thought of something like that for Molly. Why was it so hard to be creative and romantic? Everyone else could do it. Maurice's results from taking the Fifth Year end of year exams also came back, he'd gotten straight O stars yet again which outclassed every single one of them and frustrated Rose to no end. Maurice and Orous' stepdad, Cade Knox, was apparently being brought in on Thursday to talk to Elwood and his puppet master about his results.

* * *

_Wow, they really do move_, Cade's words appeared around his head as he paused to gaze in wonder at the Grand Staircase, Rutherford was taking both him and Maurice himself to see Elwood about his results, _I always imagined it was more like an escalator when Orous said they moved. Isn't that inconvenient_

_An escalator_, Rutherford repeated, his expression indicating it was a question as he got Cade to start moving again, _I'm afraid I'm not familiar with that_

Maurice let go of his necklace as they resumed walking, it was still rather difficult to read people's words while they were in motion and a discussion on escalators didn't seem particularly interesting anyway. He didn't even get why Cade had to be here in the first place, his results had nothing to do with Cade. They headed up the staircase, Cade seeming to express amazement in the talking pictures as well. Maurice didn't understand why, he was pretty sure that Cade was aware of that. They reached the gargoyle and Rutherford gave the password, Cade jumped almost as much as the gargoyle when it moved out of the way. Rutherford rolled his eyes behind Cade's back before slipping his smooth smile back onto his face as they continued up, Elwood was sitting at his desk as usual bust stood as they reached them. Introductions seemed to be made, Elwood shook hands with Cade before gesturing for them to sit as he did the same. Maurice sat beside Cade and put a hand to his necklace to rejoin the conversation while Rutherford remained standing at Elwood's side.

_Thank you for coming in, Mr Knox_, Elwood's words appeared.

_It's no problem_, Cade replied and started to look a little nervous now, _So what is this about? I thought Maurice did well on these term exams_

_He did_, Rutherford confirmed, cutting off Elwood who had opened his mouth but closed it promptly as Rutherford took over, _He scored the highest out of his entire year, in fact he has consistently performed in the highest possible tier his entire time in Hogwarts. And even before that, his results from Beauxbatons also show excellence and he has won a number of dueling championships, even against much older students_

_Maurice is a bright boy, _Cade agreed with an almost proud glance at him and Maurice decided to just hold his tongue instead of pointing out he'd been in schooling the entire length of his memory, he'd have to be some kind of idiot to not be ahead of his peers.

_Because he did so well, we gave him the examinations for the Fifth Year students and his professors tried some OWL level work in class to get the practical mark_, Rutherford explained before seeming to think of something, _OWL level is what we call Fifth Year work since those are the examinations they take at the end of the year_

_I know_, Cade pointed out as his jaw set slightly while Rutherford looked slightly surprised, Maurice felt insulted for him that Rutherford would assume he didn't know when he had in fact made an effort to learn how the Hogwarts school system worked. If he hadn't then Maurice would have had told him anyway, _How did he do_

_Better than the rest of the Fifth Year students_, Rutherford said and gestured for Elwood to hand him over a copy of his results for Cade to look over, Elwood did so but didn't seem particularly pleased to be ordered around by the attaché, _Because he is so bright and seems to be more then capable of keeping up with OWL work, for the next term I'd. We'd like to put him into the Fifth Year_

_Really,_ Cade wondered with a look of concern, _Can you even do that. Is that even a good idea. Moving to a different year could be tough_

"Cade, moving to France without knowing French was tough. Fifth Year is nothing," Maurice offered, annoyed that Cade would consider it would be difficult after everything he'd else he'd gone through. It would be laughable if it wasn't insulting, "I want to do it, I'm perfectly capable and the sooner I'm done with this Hogwarts the better. Hey, can I try the Sixth Year exams?"

_Since you can only study subjects for NEWTs that you got OWLs in, no_, Rutherford stated and Maurice resisted the urge to sigh at the squashed glimmer of hope that he might have been able to take NEWTs that year, he could do more for the war if he wasn't in school. He found himself oddly looking forward to seeing what life was like without school, _And we know there are concerns about moving him into the next year, which is why it would just be on a trial basis for the next term at least to see how it goes. If it doesn't work out then he can be back to Fourth Year for the final term and carry on with regular schooling, Fourth Year is a lot of preparing for OWLs anyway so he should be able to settle back in no problem if it comes to that_

_Well that sounds slightly better_, Cade's words came slowly.

_This could be good for him, being able to do more advanced magic might prevent him acting out_

"I wasn't acting out, I was defending my brother," Maurice protested defensively but Rutherford chose to ignore this. Unless he was speaking too quietly or had done something wrong, which was always a possibility since he couldn't hear his own voice or translate it to know it had come out correctly.

_So what do you think, Mr Knox. Or would you like to think about it over the winter break. We can't do this without your permission and now is the time or he'll miss out on his opportunity_

_I_, Cade's lone word came with a sigh as he turned back to Maurice, _Are you sure you really want to try this, Maurice. What about your friends_

"Yes," Maurice insisted firmly, "You can be friends with people in a different year to you, in fact I already have plenty of Fifth Year friends. Except Rose and Corin because they hurt my girlfriend and aren't even sorry."

_Well_

"It's not a big deal and Rutherford even said if it goes badly then I can go back, it's my choice and if I want to do it then I should be able to."

_Alright, Maurice, you try it if it really means that much to you_

"Thank you," Maurice offered gratefully, even though he still wasn't sure why Cade's opinion mattered.

_Yes, thank you_, Rutherford agreed with a smug smile slipping back onto his face although his eyes caught Maurice's,_ It will be good for him, he is such a bright boy. So much so that he could probably brew Polyjuice and perform Occlumency if he really put his mind to it_

* * *

"So what are you doing for the holidays?" Scorpius asked conversationally of Michael on Friday morning - the day they were going back - as they packed their things alone as Albus was in the bathroom and the other two were already gone to breakfast apparently, for once Michael wasn't prepared due to only having gotten out of the Hospital Wing yesterday and was still somewhat lethargic from the transformation. Michael didn't answer, "Are you staying with your Mother or Father or Annie?"

"Crystal," Michael answered shortly, he always had an odd habit of referring to his parents by their first names.

"Must be nice, having a nice normal family Christmas for once."

"We're not a nice normal family," Michael pointed out, equally shortly and Scorpius let out a frustrated sigh.

"C'mon, Michael, you can't be mad at me forever. I was trying to help you," Scorpius offered, deciding it was about time to get around to apologizing. He still hadn't talked to Antonius yet either, "I'm sorry that I may have gone a little too far with some of the things I said but I was just upset."

"Whatever," Michael shrugged it off and Scorpius sighed again, "I really don't care anymore."

"Cheer up, Rutherford's not locking you up anymore and you're seeing your family. You should be happy."

"Well I'm not happy, Scorpius," Michael told him seriously as he closed his trunk, seemingly finished as he turned to leave, "I haven't been happy for a long time."

"Well do you... do you want to talk about it?" Scorpius offered awkwardly with concern but Michael just shook his head.

"I don't care anymore," Michael reiterated as he left, leaving Scorpius feeling less enthusiastic about the holidays. Or maybe a break would be good and Michael would be feeling better when he returned.

Scorpius finished packing and headed down for breakfast, Rutherford refused to break the seating plan even for the last day before Christmas. Abby was also unhappy about Christmas, her elder sister claimed to be too busy to come home from the Bahamas for the holiday and it was still tough with her elder brother being dead. Christmas the time for family after all, making the void more apparent. Maurice - who apparently would be joining them in Fifth Year classes after the break - was the only one of his friends staying, which seemed to upset Orous. Even Vern was going back, he'd changed his mind when he'd been told his estranged brother wanted to see him. After breakfast they headed down to the carriages, it was snowing still and Cassia had come to say goodbye to them with her pet vulture. Antonius hadn't though, Scorpius was afraid to ask and it made him feel bad for not trying to talk to him sooner. He hoped he was alright. And that he'd stay away from Dark Magic while he was gone. He really should have tried to talk to him.

It would have to wait though. He did get to see Calderon on the platform though as he got the luggage sorted and bade goodbye to him as well, his cousin seemed much more at ease with him and even hugged him in farewell. He got a compartment with Albus, Rose, Corin, Vern and Orous since the others were all on prefect duty. Albus was the only one who in a good mood, ever the optimist but it kept them occupied with his games of Exploding Snap and lighthearted conversation. The train journey was uneventful and they were soon back onto the platform to the crowd of waiting parents, Michael managed to slip away without him noticing or even bothering to say goodbye to any of them. Abby spotted her mother quite quickly so said her goodbyes and went over with her younger brother August, Latimer's father Austin was looking rather rough but smiled nonetheless when he saw his son and even gave Latimer a hug in greeting before leaving. Scorpius was relieved, it was a good sign that Austin was making an effort and Latimer needed support.

"Hey Lenore!" Corin called out suddenly, making Scorpius jump as Lenore went to walk past them but paused at the sound of her name and turned to them. Corin swallowed nervously, "I erm... I'm... I'm sorry. For... For... erm..."

"For nearly killing me?" Lenore volunteered, she was wearing just jeans and a jacket. Corin went scarlet and Rose looked almost betrayed.

"Yeah... That."

"Well good to know, just don't ever expect me to say yes to a drink from you," Lenore offered conversationally and Corin's face flooded with relief before she went to leave.

"And Lenore," Scorpius called her back, she glanced at him with surprise again, "Have a good Christmas."

"You too," Lenore added before leaving.

"Why did you do that?! She's the enemy!" Rose snapped at him and Corin.

"Well I am sorry, I didn't mean to nearly kill her and I miss my friend," Corin pointed out as he went to leave himself, he needed to take another train back to France so really he could leave anytime, "Merry Christmas, see you in a few."

"And what about you?!" Rose demanded of Scorpius instead after Corin and chorus of farewells was over while Vern was called over by his girlfriend to say goodbye, "Why were you being nice to her?!"

"She did tell us about Rutherford and it was her plan," Scorpius explained, "I still don't know whether I like her or trust her but I don't think she's completely evil, she deserves a good Christmas."

"Did you ever think maybe she is just setting you up?! She is evil, I bet she gets attacked by maggots when she tries to cast a Patronus."

"Actually she can cast it," Molly spoke up and Rose looked incredulous, she couldn't even cast a full-bodied one yet.

"What is it? A rat?"

"A raven."

"Well ravens suck."

"And there's my Dad," Molly said with a smile as she noticed him, turning back to give Scorpius a long, lingering kiss in goodbye and he encircled his arms around her before she pulled away, "Have a good Christmas and Happy Birthday to your little brother for tomorrow."

"Thanks and Merry Christmas," Scorpius offered with a smile that she returned, "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too. And goodbye Orous as well, the rest of you I'll see in a few days."

"Bye," the others echoed as Molly headed over to her dad, Percy smiled proudly and pulled her into a hug while Lily came over to them.

"Hey Orous," Lily greeted her boyfriend, giving a smile that Vern returned as she brushed her hair back behind her ear, "I just came over to say goodbye."

"Bye," Orous told her and patted her on the shoulder awkwardly, "And have a good Christmas."

"Thanks, you too."

Lily said and seemed to take his touching her shoulder as an indication to hug him, which caused Albus' eye to twitch but he said nothing. Orous didn't seem to mind and they held each other close for a minute before pulling apart slowly with their arms still part around each other, gazing into each other's eyes as if they were about to kiss. But neither made a move too and Lily finally pulled away, looking maybe the slightest bit disappointed as she turned away which caused Albus to let out a relieved sigh. Orous clenched and unclenched his fists nervously as she started to move away, looking extremely torn.

"Lily, wait!" Orous called after and she paused, Scorpius could practically feel his Orous' heart thundering as he crossed the distance between them, "Merry Christmas."

Lily opened her mouth to reply but was silenced as Orous pressed his lips against hers, Albus gave a strangled yelp of surprise. Lily's eyes bulged in surprise for a moment as if he hadn't kissed her before, only for a moment before the fluttered closed and she relaxed into the kiss. Orous was also no longer looking tense, Scorpius turned away and spotted Cade watching his son wide-eyed.

"Yes, James, you've been good so you can spend the break with your friend," Mrs Potter's voice was saying as she approached with James, Hugo and Vern in tow, James fist pumped the air but they all also froze when they saw Lily kissing Orous.

"Wait till I-" James started to say and draw his wand but his mother grabbed his wrist before he could, the couple were oblivious though and only seemed to pull apart at that moment because the kiss was naturally over, smiling and blushing.

"Come on, Lily."

"Come on, Orous," Cade added and the couple blinked in surprise noticing their families and moved away with their respective parents, Albus and Rose also bidding them goodbye and joining Mrs Potter. Rose and Hugo were going home with them since their parents were busy with work, which just left Scorpius.

"Scorpius!" his father's voice called and Scorpius gave a small smile as he went over to join his family.

* * *

**Part 3: **Holiday

* * *

Scorpius went home with his parents and endured their questions about how things were going, mostly they were still obsessing over his OWLs. They stressed his results were good but he could do better and also now knew which areas he needed to work on to do more, they also seemed somewhat disheartened by his lack of a career in mind still. It was good to see his brother though, it was Sol's first birthday tomorrow. Scorpius couldn't believe it had been a while year since his brother was born. Sol was crawling now though and eating solid food even if it was mushy baby food and could say three words, he also could stand holding onto things. Scorpius remembered when he was a newborn They weren't having a party until nearer the end of the Christmas break though because his mother had befriended Leebin's wife, their son shared Sol's birthday but he was in St Mungo's recovering from the full moon a few days ago so they were having a joint party when the baby was better. Scorpius hoped Leebin would be there, he might give him some advice on what how to help some of his friends. Since Leebin was a Psych Healer or whatever his job was called.

His grandmother wasn't doing so good, she didn't come down to say hello to him as usual. He went to fetch her for dinner and found her gazing at a wall covered entirely in newspaper clippings concerning the revelation that the Shadow Master was the son of Voldemort, she brightened up when she saw him though and acted like she hadn't disturbingly defaced a wall with newspaper articles. She joined them for dinner and he had to go through all the questions about his OWLs and lack of career again, only then could he feign tiredness and head upstairs to Portkey over to Varanian's hideout. He was glad to see Varanian walking without the aid of a walking stick now, he thought it was a good sign that Varanian was recovering. Annie was there as well, he was sure Roman was but he stayed in his own room and didn't come out to see him. He was told Wyatt was also in at that moment, also in his room but Scorpius thought he could wait on talking to him until after he'd spoken to Varanian. Varanian actually went first, telling him how their trip to the Ministry had gone and what they'd learned about Leila Akram who was indeed the woman he'd seen in Egypt.

"And we figured out that it was One the Specter residing in Annie's brother, Jack, who killed-"

"Wait, Jack?" Scorpius interrupted before he could stop himself, it was an unspoken rule to hold questions until the end but he was still shocked. He hadn't even realized Varanian was aware of Michael's apparently so crazy suspicions.

"Yes, Jack Thorne," Varanian said slowly before glancing at Annie, who was in the corner leaning back with her feet on the table with a bottle beer in hand, "I got that right, right?"

"If you hadn't then I would've corrected you already," Annie pointed out as she sipped her beer which had Varanian frown before he turned back to Scorpius.

"Didn't Michael tell you he suspected his father was killing people who had wronged him?"

"Well yeah but I didn't believe him," Scorpius admitted, realizing he sounded rather like an asshole. Had that also contributed to Michael's recent behavior?

Varanian thankfully didn't point out he was a terrible friend and instead just continued tell him what they'd found out, the deaths being the same as those known to be killed by Specters and the PAW victims. As well as Wyatt spying on him recently and overhearing him talking to One or rather arguing over who to kill next to 'feed,' he certainly did seem to be sharing his body with a Specter and One seemed to be able to speak through Jack's mouth at will . Although they still didn't know how they'd managed to do the things they did unless One had learned to do things other Specters hadn't yet or something because it wasn't consistent with what they knew.

"And my beer's gone," Annie spoke up and stood at random, "I'm going to get another one then I'll be back. Or not. Is there really any point me listening to things I already know?"

"Bye," Scorpius offered dismissed as she left while Varanian watched her leave worriedly and continued staring after her, "So do you want me to tell you how things are going with Rutherford?"

"Sure," Varanian agreed and gestured for him to speak before turning back to stare after Annie with a scowl as Scorpius started telling him about how things had gone since he'd last seen him, Varanian didn't seem to be listening to him through or reacting to anything he was saying.

"Varanian, are you even listening to me?" Scorpius wondered of him and Varanian glanced back to him slowly.

"How would get an alcoholic to stop drinking because you're concerned about their health?" Varanian asked him randomly.

"Why are you asking me that?! Why do you think I would know that?!"

"You ask me random stupid questions I don't know the answer to all the time."

"Were you even listening to me?!"

"Yes, of course I was," Varanian scoffed but Scorpius was still rather dubious.

"Then what was I saying?"

"You were saying 'Varanian, are you even listening to me?'"

"Before that," Scorpius pressed.

"You were talking about Rutherford," Varanian said slowly and somewhat uncertainly.

"Lucky guess," Scorpius muttered irritably.

He was annoyed that Varanian wasn't listening to him and asking stupid questions. He was supposed to be thinking about stopping the war not stopping alcoholism, who did he even know who was an alcoholic? Annie didn't drink that much, surely. He started telling him about Rutherford again and Varanian did seem to be focusing on him this time, in fact Scorpius started to feel bad for being mad at him. Why shouldn't Varanian care about other things besides the war? He was still a person. With a random concern.

"Well, we really need to get rid of Rutherford," Varanian offered when Scorpius was done, looking thoughtful.

"Yeah, but how?"

"The only idea I have right now is way above your skill level."

"What it is?" Scorpius asked anyway, curious and thinking he might be able to do it.

"He's after me, right? From what I gather, his plan is to get this location from your mind then tell the Aurors so they can come after me. But to get them to come after me, he'll have to admit he used Legilimency illegally on you but expects it will be overlooked because it helped apprehend a criminal."

"Yeah."

"So why not let him have that?"

"I'm not following," Scorpius admitted in confusion.

"You show him a false memory of a different location to this, he tells the Aurors and they go after me but I'm not there. He looks a fool and there's no reason for them to not throw the book at him since it amounted to nothing, just a waste of Auror time. He gets arrested and goes to New Azkaban prison no more Rutherford, even if he manages to weasel out of it then there's no way he'll be allowed to return to the same position in Hogwarts."

"That could work," Scorpius said hopefully, it was better the nothing they'd come up with, "How do you give him a false memory?"

"More advanced Legilimency or Occlumency. There's also spells that do that kind of thing but it would be much more awkward because you'd need to cast it on him and erase his memory of having the spell cast on him, as a Legilimens he's also likely to be able to tell its fake. Legilimency and Occlumency both can alter and manipulate the many layers of the mind, making information they implant so much deeper and on so many more layers than any other spell. I don't think it would work unless with Legilimency or Occlumency on someone, not on someone who knows either of them like Rutherford does at least."

"Well, couldn't you sneak into the school and shift to look like me and do it to him?"

"I know _how_ to do it but I don't think I _could_ do it, especially not on someone who's like much more skilled then me," Varanian told him with a shake of his head, "It's not my strongest area as I've said, my Grandfather died before teaching me everything thoroughly when I was a teenager no less."

"Maybe you could learn to do it, or I could," Scorpius offered, "If you know how then it's just a matter of practicing really, right?"

"I suppose but I don't think it's likely, you'd need someone who knows Legilimency to try invade your mind to try give them a false memory. No one I around knows Legilimency, I'd have to teach someone it just to teach myself to implant false memories which is needlessly time-consuming. The school year would probably be over by then."

"How about you alter my memories with the false location so when he reads my mind, he'll get the wrong one?" Scorpius wondered as the idea occurred to him.

"That might work but I don't want to even attempt that."

"Why not?"

"Well partly because altering your memories and screwing with your mind is something they already think I've done to you and I'd rather not prove them right," Varanian said, sounding very determined, "And mostly because this is much more dangerous. If you're using Occlumency to show a false memory then the worst that can happen is that you fail and the Legilimens sees the true memory, if I'm using Legilimency to alter your memory then the worst that can happen is I permanently damage your mind. I'm not going to take that risk with something I'm not very confident in to begin with and I don't think you would be either, you realize I'd alter your mind and I'd also have to alter or erase your memories of the plan so he couldn't stumble across them so you wouldn't even be aware of it. It's more complex and not doable."

"Alright," Scorpius conceded and suppressed a yawn as it was getting late by now, "I guess I just need to learn Occlumency faster then and in the meantime, the cycling technique did work so I can keep him at bay. Unless he figures out how to get around that, can he?"

"I don't know," Varanian shook his head, "Maybe you should be heading back now though if you're getting tired, we've talked enough for today and there's still two more weeks."

"What are you going to do about Jack though? Or Leila Akram? Or Hal? Are you getting to let Hal help?"

"With Jack, confront him at some point which will hopefully be after we know more or maybe sooner if anything happens but I have a feeling we're missing something. With Akram, keep trying to find her to figure out what she knows and hopefully form an alliance. And with Hal, I don't know. Do you know this Hal Davis person?"

"Yes, his parents are friends with mine so I kind of know him or at least they used to be, I'm not sure about now and Hal's parents disowned him for joining the Aurors. He was supposed to be watching me when I was kidnapped," Scorpius admitted and swallowed uncomfortably at having to mention it, "Ever since then when I've seen him, he's seemed guilt-ridden over it and has been good and supportive to me, I guess. I think he's serious about fighting the Shadows to be disowned like that, he helped you even if it was because it was of guilt and I think he's trustworthy enough. You don't have to key to the place but he's worth a shot, I think, information from the Auror Office would be useful for our group."

"There's no group!" Varanian insisted immediately and Scorpius cringed, recognizing the bad word choice, "And I'll think about Hal."

"Alright," Scorpius nodded as he stood to leave, "Bye then, Varanian, I'll see you soon."

"Bye, Scorpius," Varanian offered and held up a hand in farewell as Scorpius went to climb the stairs, "And Happy Birthday to... your brother for tomorrow."

"Thanks," Scorpius said with a smile as he continued up and passed Roman heading back into his own room with a cup of cocoa by the smell of it, he recalled Orous' query from before, "Hey Roman."

"What?" Roman asked of him, somewhere between disinterested and annoyed at being questioned.

"Erm... You know Orous, right?"

"I know _of_ him, I don't remember either of my sons at all but I am aware of who they are. Orous is the elder one, the albino with a broken soul like me."

"Yes, him," Scorpius confirmed with a nod of relief that he did know of his sons at least, "He erm... He wanted me to ask you if you'd be interested in joining him and stepfather for Christmas?"

"Well that sounds awkward," Roman scoffed immediately, "If he already has a Father then why does he want me there anyway?"

"Because Cade may be the man that raised him and who he considers his Dad but you'll always be his flesh and blood Father, he'd like to know you too," Scorpius answered awkwardly with a shrug but still expected a rejection, however Roman sighed instead as he gazed down into his cup.

"Alright, I suppose it's my parental obligation that I should. It's not like I'll have abundant opportunities to interact with him and I... I would like to know him too," Roman said quietly with a weak nod and swallowed again before heading back into his room.

Scorpius had not really expected that but he supposed that at least he'd have some good news to give Orous, although he did agree it might be somewhat awkward. He didn't head home though but rather went upstairs, wanting to speak to Wyatt while he was in and get it over learning whether he was doing his animagi training correctly. He reached Wyatt's room and was relieved to see a light coming from under the door, indicating that the animagus was likely awake. Scorpius knocked politely on the door and was rewarded a minute later by Wyatt opening it, his hair still hadn't decided whether it was blond or brown and was slightly damp, that along with the smell of shampoo made him guess that Wyatt had just bathed. He was dressed in a green bathrobe with stripped pajama bottoms visible at the bottom and had his feet nestled in yellow bunny face slippers.

"Ah, hello Scor," Wyatt greeted him brightly, "I see you have returned for the Christmas break. What can I do for you? I was just about to turn in."

"I wanted to talk to you about being an animagi, I haven't had any progress and I'm afraid I'm doing it wrong now," Scorpius admitted.

"You know, I did say it's normal to go a long time without progress."

"I know, that's why I want to make sure I'm having no progress because it's normal and not because I'm doing it wrong," Scorpius explained and Wyatt scratched his chin thoughtfully before suppressing a yawn.

"Alright," Wyatt agreed and opened the door for him to come in, "I apologize for my dress sense, if I had known I was having company then I would have stayed dressed and held off on the bath."

"Its fine," Scorpius brushed it off and looked around the room, it was pretty much the same as the last time he'd been there except maybe a touch neater and there was now a picture of a man on the dresser that he didn't recognize. He didn't look related to Wyatt, he had neat brown hair with eyes to match and incredibly sharp features although he did look to be in his early twenties like Wyatt.

"Want a gummy worm?" Wyatt offered and held out the bag, Scorpius shook his head and Wyatt shrugged as he popped one into his mouth and threw himself lazily down on the divan, "Okay, so why don't you show me you practicing to be an animagi and I'll tell you if you're doing it right?"

"Okay," Scorpius agreed and pulled out the chair from the desk, sitting down and making sure he was comfortable before pulling out his wand to cast the first spell on himself, waving it around his body which made you physically and mentally able to change, "_Facila."_

"Good so far," Wyatt pointed out encouragingly as Scorpius felt the now familiar sensation as if his skin was being rained on and through, it wasn't uncomfortable but did indicate the spell was working. Scorpius relaxed even more, ensuring he was comfortable in that position as you needed to be and cleared his mind for the second spell.

"_Fianima_,_" _Scorpius cast and felt the slight pressure where his wand had aimed which should be a sign the spell was working, he placed his wand down and closed his eyes to focus. He willed his body to change and felt the also familiar tingling sensation beneath his skin, his concentration was then immediately broken by Wyatt's howl of laughter. Scorpius opened his eyes worriedly, "What?"

"Oh you," Wyatt chuckled and stood, retrieving a mirror from one of the drawers and bringing it over to show him. Scorpius jolted in surprise to see his skin was now a bright green before smiling at having made progress, "I also said that sometimes you don't even realize that you've started to make progress until the changes get more severe, considering how quickly it occurred it's also highly unlikely this is your first time changing. You certainly are doing it correctly and are well on your way, don't worry so much."

* * *

James Sirius Potter had been feeling rather down in the dumps since his seventeenth birthday a few days ago, he was now of age and still liked guys which had crushed his hopes that he would suddenly wake up one day and be straight like the firstborn son of the greatest hero of the wizarding world should be. He'd taken his frustration out on the Slytherin brat of course, it was wrong that the evil slime bag had such a perfect life when he didn't when he was a good person. James could tell that his family were ashamed of him, he could tell when he was being lied to. He knew the supportive words in letters were written without meaning, he could see the disappointed way they looked at him. He was looking forward to be spending the holidays with Carver though, he needed a break. His parents had promised him that if he could stay out of trouble, only targeting the one Slytherin brat also made it much easier to get away with it. The Slytherin brat knew no one would believe him over the son of the greatest hero of the wizarding world, he didn't say a word.

He slung his packed bag over his shoulder and grabbed up the other ones as he headed downstairs, he was being dropped off at Carver's house that morning then Carver's Dad would pick them up to take them to the Bahamas in preparation for Christmas Eve tomorrow. His mum was making breakfast, omelet by the smell of it which was his favorite. The others were already there before him for once as packing had caused him to be down later than usual, his brother, sister and blasted Vern. He missed when the Dursley didn't live with them, Albus was still mad at him because his grotesque friend was weak and James was mad at him now for dating an inhuman snake, Lily was also mad at him for threatening to kill her ghost-like boyfriend after the bastard had dared to kiss her. Like that nothing loser was good enough for the daughter of the greatest hero of the wizarding world, he looked like a freak and was too much of a coward to have made Gryffindor, his taste in friends was terrible and there was clearly something wrong with him. Lily could do better. Which she would know if she waited to date until she was old enough to know better like people should. He left his bags in the corridor and joined them at the table.

His mum was pretending to be nice to him again as they started on breakfast, like he couldn't see the shame in her eyes. Albus just wanted to talk about how brilliant his girlfriend was, James suspected a Love Potion had been used on him because all Slytherins were evil. Lily didn't say much but still had that stupid smile on her face, the one she'd had since Ghosty had kissed her with his gross colorless lips. The bastard was trying to seduce a poor naive kid an entire year younger then him, James needed to get him good when they returned to Hogwarts. He just had to worry about the psychopathic guard dog that was his twin. James was surprised when his dad showed up though, Lily rushed over to hug him in greeting and started telling him exciting about having her first kiss with Ghosty - he was glad to see his dad's eyes widen somewhat in shock, maybe he'd see this was wrong at least - when he asked her how she was as he joined them for breakfast and received a kiss on the cheek from his wife. Sadly, James realized he'd never have a wife. Albus seemed slightly tense around their dad and Vern seemed indifferent, trust a Dursley to not give a damn that the amazing man who put food in his stomach and a roof over his head despite what the despicable family had done to him when he was a child.

After breakfast, Vern and Lily were stuck on dish duty while James actually got attention from his parents as they fussed over if he had everything and if he'd get homesick. _Homesick_, despite the fact he was in Hogwarts most of the year. He thought it was somewhat ironic, it was only when he was of age and leaving that they started to pay attention to him. Especially his dad. It was clear it was just because he was leaving, they were putting so much effort into fussing over him because they wouldn't have to for most of the rest of the holiday. He could see their eagerness to be rid of him written into their faces, he could see the lack of love in their eyes. Albus was their favorite child, he always had been. Just because he looked more like their dad and now because James was gay, Albus was the one to carry on the Potter bloodline. He better not taint it with the slime the Slytherin scum had for blood, the thing with Krum couldn't last.

"I can't believe it's going to be our first Christmas apart," his mum said with eyes filled with fake tears as she hugged him tightly, "Have fun but remember, we're just an owl away if you need us. I love you so much, sweetheart."

"I love you too, Mum," James offered, the only one of the two was sincere.

She seemed to have forgotten his OWL results pretty quick now since he'd done well on the End of Term exams, only studying subjects you liked and/or were good at for NEWTs was a pretty good way of doing things in James' opinion. Albus, Vern and Lily came over to also give him half-assed goodbyes. Albus and Vern were unenthusiastic, only Lily hugged him. His dad didn't say goodbye though.

"Are you ready to go?" his dad asked instead when the other three had trudged off, holding James' bags.

"You're taking me?" James wondered in surprise.

"Of course, why do you think I'm here? I didn't want you to leave without having seen you," his dad pointed out and James was touched his dad had some sliver of liking for him still, his dad was truly the greatest hero of the wizarding world. And how dare that Ashain brat try to take away from that by getting his own bigger lightning bolt scar, "So are you ready?"

James nodded and his mum gave him a final hug and kiss before he headed outside with his dad where a Ministry car waited for them, complete with a driver so he could sit in the back with his dad and just talk with me. It was nice having his dad interested in his life again, James wondered if maybe he should leave more often. Carver lived on the outskirts of Reading, a good hour away from Grimmauld Place so they did have plenty of time to talk. James didn't even notice they were there until the driver said as much, from the spacious fields just outside the city he would guess that Carver's home had once been a farmhouse but he knew it wasn't a farm now. He got out of the car with his dad and they carried his bags over to the central door, the building was laced in poison ivy. His father rang the bell and it played a whistling melody before swinging open to reveal who he'd guess to be Carver's mother, she was a burly, stocky woman in contrast still had an oddly delicate face with milky skin. She wasn't overweight though and was wearing a dirty dress. She had messy brownish hair that was shoulder-length and the same beady but brilliant azure eyes as Carver, although one of hers was a lazy eye that stared off in the wrong direction. She had a rather ugly bald baby on her hip, it had a long face and was drooling out of a wide smile.

"Harry Potter?" the woman wondered with a smile lighting up her face which revealed she was missing teeth in places - despite the perfectly white ones still in her mouth - and made her look younger which she was or at least younger than his parents were as she had been barely nineteen when Carver was born, she had a rather shrill yet somehow rasping voice as she reached out a hand to shake his dad's, "It's an honor to meet you!"

"Thank you," his dad offered with a fake smile as he took her hand, he got that a lot, "It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs Edwards."

"Reed. Mary Reed. Edwards is my maiden name. You can call me Mary if you'd like," Mary explained and looked embarrassed as the baby's drool dripped onto her dress that she tried to rub out but his dad decided to spare her and ignore it.

"My mistake. And who's this little guy?"

"This is Damien, he's one. And this must be James," Mary stated with an odd amount of uncertainty and her smile returned as she left the drool stain, she abruptly turned back into the house and shouted at the top of her lungs, "CARVER!"

"WHAT?!" Carver's distant voice demanded.

"DON'T SPEAK TO YOUR MOTHER LIKE THAT, YOU UNGRATEFUL SWINE! AND GET DOWN HERE AND HELP YOUR FRIEND WITH HIS BAGS, YOU LAZY ASS!" Mary screamed back up before turning back to them with her pleasant smile back in place while footsteps scampered down from inside the house, she brushed her hair back in one hand as if trying to make it more presentable, "Xerxes will be here this afternoon to take them to his fancy place in the Bahamas, James is welcome here until then."

"Jay!" Carver greeted him with a grin that James before noticing his dad and straightened up, looking more serious as he inclined his head, "Mr Potter, Sir."

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!? TAKE HIS BAGS INSIDE!" Mary screamed at him, despite the fact he was right beside her and Carver's expression became set as he obeyed with a wave of farewell from Damien before speaking to them pleasantly with a smile again as she brushed her hair back again, "Sorry about him, Xerxes and I were so drunk when he was conceived that I think it gave some brain damage because he's a bit slow."

"How are they getting to the Bahamas?" his dad asked curiously, deciding to ignore her last sentence but she shrugged.

"I don't know. Xerxes is handling that, he never took me to the Bahamas," Mary pointed out before jolting as if she'd thought of something and her smile returned wider, "If you'd like then you could stay here to wait for Xerxes, there's cake. And tea."

"No, thank you, I must get back to the office."

"I understand, my husband works at the Ministry. Do you know him?"

"Um... I don't think so. What's his name?"

"Pegasus Reed. He works in the Department of Transportation."

"No, I don't know him. I'm afraid."

"He's there now if you wanted to meet him, he's a really great guy," Mary offered hopefully but his dad was spared saying anything as Carver returned.

"I put them in my room out of the way," Carver told them before his mother could open her mouth.

"Alright, I guess I'll be going then," his dad said as he turned to James and pulled him into a hug, adding in a whisper, "Remember, if you want to come home at any point then you can."

"I got it, Dad," James assured him and his dad gave him a final squeeze before pulling away, "I'll see you soon."

"Have fun," his dad added and gave a nod to Carver and Mary before heading back to the car.

"Look at that Damien, you met someone famous," Mary cooed at the baby in a high-pitched voice before opening the door wide and gesturing for them to come inside.

It was surprisingly dark inside, the windows didn't let in much light and the black couches with brown carpet albeit littered with toys didn't help. The staircase was opposite and there was an open door to the left which looked to be the kitchen, there was another door closed opposite. They also weren't alone, there was two small children fighting over a doll. Both had brown hair and dark brown eyes, the one in a dirty pink dress had shoulder-length hair and the other in dirty dungarees had it cropped short although not shaved like Carver's, he wasn't sure if that was a boy or girl. There was also a third toddler sitting on one of the couches with a pot on his or her head, banging it - still on their head - with a stick. Mary and Carver both didn't seemed concerned by any of it.

"If Xerxes isn't here by dinner then you can have some," Mary assured him gently as if she'd thought he was worried about that before gesturing to the kids, in order the long haired one, the short haired one and the one banging the pot on their head, "That's Meg, Emerald and Amadeus."

"Okay," James nodded in understanding, still unsure which was the boy and girl because he knew Carver had two brothers and two sisters by his mother.

"CARVER, YOU IDIOT! WHY DON'T YOU TAKE YOUR FRIEND TO YOUR ROOM!? HE DOESN'T WANT TO STAND HERE BORED OUT OF HIS MIND!"

Carver rolled his eyes but obediently led James upstairs, giving him a brief tour before just going to his room. Carver's room was rather small and looked as if he'd just cleaned in preparation for James' coming, it had a bed and a chest of drawers, shelves with some books and that was it. James' luggage was also there along with Carver's own, he seemed to bringing much less but he supposed Carver had things at his dad's. They hung out there for most of the day, chatting and playing idle games like Exploding Snap or Wizard Chess - Carver always won - except for when Mary screamed up at Carver to do some chore. James really started to feel bad for his friend, Mary seemed incapable of speaking to Carver unless she was yelling at him even when they were in the same room and insulted him constantly while speaking kindly to James or the little kids. He hoped Carver's father wouldn't be like that at least, thankfully the guy arrived before dinner time.

"CARVER, YOU MORON! GET DOWN HERE AND BRING THE BAGS, YOUR FATHER IS HERE!" Mary's annoying voice screamed up to him and they headed down.

James helping Carver magically with the bags because he remembered he was allowed to use magic now he was of age, unlike Carver who was a few months younger and still subject to the Trace. Meg and Emerald were now throwing toys at each other, the doll being cuddled and gnawed on by Damien and Amadeus was still banging the pot on his head. James was starting to be glad he wouldn't have to be a father, little kids were chaotic by the looks of things and babies were dumb. Carver's father was also there now, or at least James could only assume it was him. He had short ketchup red hair and violently violet eyes, both of which reminded him oddly of Florian but he didn't look much like him in regards to facial features. He was robust and tall like Carver with a more square jaw, he was rather handsome much like Carver too. He was also dressed much nicer, in maroon robes that were not dirty like the Reed family and looked much more expensive, they also were not winter wear. He gave his son a hug before turning to James, giving him a smile and extending his hand that James took to shake.

"And you must be James Sirius Potter, Xerxes Seneca," Xerxes introduced himself, he didn't have Carver's amazing gravelly voice but he did have the faintest hint of accent. He was from... Italy or Greece or something if James remembered correctly, Xerxes moved his hand back, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Carver has told so much so much about you."

"It's nice to meet you too," James offered politely and noticed Mary glaring at Xerxes unhappily, Xerxes clapped his hands and the bags vanished into thin air, "Where did they go?!"

"To the Bahamas, of course. Saves you two lugging it about."

"How did you do that?" James wondered in amazement at how he could transport the luggage to a different country without even using a wand or a Portkey, neither Carver nor Mary looked impressed though while Xerxes winked at him with a smirk.

"Magic."

"You must be really powerful."

"I try my best," Xerxes offered with a smile, "Now come on, let us go and get you settled in not stand around here in this dump."

"It's not a dump, it's my home," Mary insisted defensively but James was inclined to agree with Xerxes here.

"Well each to their own. Come now, boys," Xerxes stated and started off, James half-followed with Carver who received a chorus of byes from some of the children but didn't get a hug or farewell from his own mother. Back outside, Xerxes whipped out a handkerchief, "Here's the Portkey, just hold onto it and we'll go."

James and Carver both took a hold of the maroon handkerchief which thankfully didn't seem to be used, he had travelled by Portkey before and what occurred next was not something he would ever have thought was Portkey travel. Instead of hurtling through space, he felt as if he was being thrown naked off a cliff and sailing through icy air that glided across his skin. And then it was over, he fell to his knees as he felt sure he was about to vomit. He breathed in and out deeply as the wave of nausea seemed to pass, it occurred to him that he was not cold but warm now. In fact, he was kneeling down on white sand, his hands pressed into the soft white grain. Someone offered him a hand and he took it to stand up on unsteady legs.

"You get used it," Carver said shortly, he and his father not seeming to be effected.

"I'm very sorry, intercontinental Portkey travel can be rough the first time," Xerxes offered apologetically, "It's experimental stuff that the Bahamian government are working on, they're still getting the kicks out. I'd also appreciate it if you didn't mention it, they'd rather mention it to England until it's flawless."

"Sure," James nodded, taking a deep breath and realizing he was still holding hand Carver's hand from being helped up and let go of it abruptly. His eyes shot to the ground to try hide the fact he was blushing, Carver had such nice strong hands.

"Welcome James, to my home," Xerxes said and clapped him on the shoulder, causing James to look up again.

James' jaw dropped as he looked around his surroundings properly for the first time, Xerxes pointed to a modern looking mansion directly ahead of them. It only seemed to have one other floor aside from the ground but looked spacious nonetheless and was quite wide, it was nestled in between luscious green and had just a short pathway to get to the door from the beach. He looked around and saw he was standing on white sand stretching out distantly either side of him, the blue sky was empty but the gleaming golden disc of the sun and the sea... Beautiful azure waves rippled gently onto the soft sand, the sound was almost soothing. There were a few people about but it wasn't jam-packed, sunbathers mostly and some hot guys playing beach volleyball shirtless. They were all quite spread out though so they had plenty of beach to themselves. James was impressed.

* * *

**Part 4: **The Dreams of Youth

* * *

Elwood or Rutherford may have decided that Christmas decorations were bad for some reason but they had said nothing - nor did they have any control over - what staff did in their private quarters, which was why Atticus put up a small plastic Christmas tree in his own. As much as he disliked the holiday personally and especially spending it in Hogwarts - something he had really thought had ended with his schooling - it was for his children, Christmas was their day and they deserved it after everything that happened to them. Cassia was fairly enthusiastic but then she was fairly enthusiastic, Antonius... wasn't but then Antonius... wasn't. He was sitting watching him and Cassia decorate the tree, head resting on one arm and the other stroking that dog of his. His expression was as blank as ever, Atticus worried about him.

"Antonius, do you want to put the star on the top of the tree?" Atticus asked of his son hopefully, when he was younger he'd always wanted to do it and Skye would always let him. Antonius cocked his head to one side, looking suddenly as if he was fighting to remember something.

"Mum would always let me do that, wouldn't she?" Antonius wondered, looking somewhat uncertain but Atticus thought it was good for him to remember things even if mention of Skye always hurt somewhat. He still thought he was getting somewhere with convincing her to at least _see_ her kids before blasted Carl came out, or however he spelt his stupid name.

"Yes, yes she did. So would you like to?"

"No," Antonius said immediately.

Atticus opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by the loud squawk of Cassia's vulture flying in the open window, causing him to jump and draw his wand before recognizing the hulking brown bird. Why couldn't his children have little pets? They were little children. He didn't really like vultures, they reminded him of his childhood and the bird looked just one of those flock. In fact, it probably _was_ one of that flock. It dropped a pile of letters beside him before going to land on his perch, earning a treat and some conversation from Cassia. She was an Avisora, meaning she could talk to birds including her vulture.

"Why is the bird delivering mail now?" Atticus wondered in slight bemusement as he picked up the pile of what were likely Christmas cards.

"Daddy, he has a name," Cassia pointed out and he resisted the urge to sigh as she stroked the vulture affectionately, he had to remember the names of hundreds of students - since Patronus lessons were compulsory for all students, he did have to teach every single student from First to Seventh. Plus Defense Against the Dark Arts was a popular subject with a war going on - let alone pets, "And I told him to get the letters because why wait until the morning time? They're Christmas cards anyways."

"And you can't open them until Christmas."

"Christmas Eve has Christmas in it though so technitcinally can't we open them now?" Cassia questioned hopefully but Atticus shook his head and flicked through them, pausing when he recognized his father's handwriting and tossed that into the fire, "Daddy, why did you throw that one into the fire?"

"Because it's from my Father and we're not talking to him," Atticus brushed it off and put the rest of the cards in a pile with the others.

"Did we get a card from Mum?" Antonius asked somewhat quietly and Atticus felt another pang of guilt, none of them had been Skye's handwriting. He knew it was unlikely she'd wander into the wizarding Diagon Alley to send an owl for Christmas anyway, still kids needed their mothers or they wound up like him and Brutus.

"No," Atticus admitted truthfully and Antonius nodded in understanding, his expression still unreadable.

"I'm tired, I'm going to go to bed," Antonius offered as he stood and left, the dog bounding after him.

"Don't forget to brush your teeth!"

"Hey Daddy, if we do get a card from Skye then can I be the one to throw it into the fire?" Cassia wondered hopefully to Atticus' shock.

"No! You don't throw letters from your Mum into the fire," Atticus protested, not wanting her to hate their mother. If anything they should hate _him_, it was her fault for not telling her about magic after all.

"But you just did for your Father."

"That's a completely different situation."

"How?" Cassia asked curiously as she moved away from the vulture, rather stumping him on what to say to a seven year old. And worrying him, his estranged relationship with his father had nothing to do with his kids and their estranged relationship with Skye. No one could think that.

"Because... your mother loves you very much and you shouldn't hate her just because she's having a problem with magic."

"Doesn't your Father love you more if he's sending you a card and Skye isn't sending us a card? And if Skye loves us very much then why did she leave? If you really are loved someone then shouldn't you be accepting them as they are and not leaving?" Cassia questioned thoughtfully, leaving him even more uncertain on what to say to that so he just went with changing the subject.

"So Christmas tomorrow, isn't that exciting?" Atticus pointed out, trying to sound cheery as he clapped his hands together which had Cassia scowl slightly, "Are you looking forward to getting presents?"

"Yes," Cassia said eagerly as that seemed to work, she grinned and got back to putting decorations on the tree as did he although he listened for Antonius returning to his room so he could say goodnight to him. From the sounds of running water, the boy was brushing his teeth right now though, "I hope I can have your wand since I have been a good girl and not had Avaris or any bird bother Rutherford or Grant or Midas or Elwood or any other people I don't like."

"Cassia, you're too young for a wand," Atticus told her, still not sure what the fascination was with his wand.

"I'm too young to _buy_ a wand but technitically I can have one as a gift. Like you give me your wand and you can buy a new one and then we both have wands," Cassia explained, glancing at him rather hopefully.

"Or you could just wait until you're old enough for your own wand."

"But I need a wand. Think about it, I can learn in class and not boring that are never matter. And I could charm my own hair a different colors so you wouldn't have to. And I could be fighter the Shadows already by my own," Cassia elaborated and he resisted the urge to sigh, rather wishing she would get over her desire to not be blond just because Skye was. He really wasn't sure he should keep allowing it but he wanted her to be happy, she'd been through a lot.

"You don't need to fight the Shadows by yourself, you need to focus on being happy. You only get to be a kid once, Cassia, but you are an adult for the rest of your life."

"Well good because being young sucks, you can't do anything and everyone thinks you're stupid."

"Well there are a lot of things you can't do when you're old too and there will people who think you're stupid."

"Yeah but when you're old then it doesn't matter if people think you're stupid, you can knock them on their ass with magic."

"Language!" Atticus chided her and Cassia nodded but neither apologized nor looked remorseful, "It's better to be young and innocent."

"Why? Innocence is ignorance and ignorance is for fools. It's better to be old and wise and have power and strength and knowlenge and tall and respect and be able to do things and gray hair," Cassia continued, he wasn't entirely sure she hadn't heard someone tell her the first part, "The faster I get your wand the better, I can learn earlier and be better at magic."

"Why my wand?!" Atticus wondered incredulously.

"Because I like your wand," Cassia pointed out as if it was obvious, "I'm already going to be the youngest Occluems in the history of wizards but I still need to know more magic if I'm is going to be a good Auror, good enough to be the Head Auror."

"Why an Auror?" Atticus questioned not taking her odd and sudden interest in Occluemcy seriously but he really rather opposed to the thought of his little girl growing up and throwing her life into danger as an Auror.

"I want to be like you, Daddy."

"I'm a Professor, why not do that?" Atticus wondered and she laughed.

"I don't want to teach a bunch of bratty kids and grade so much papers, I want to make a difference and fighter the bad guys."

"Goodnight," Antonius offered as he poked his head in before Atticus had time to think of a reply.

"I'll be back in a minute," Atticus pointed out as he stood to go after his son.

"When you get back can we putter the star on the tree?" Cassia asked hopefully.

"Sure."

Atticus left her to go to Antonius' room, it was small with little more than a bed and a chest of draws for clothes that doubled as a bedside table. It was so neat and bland, in contrast to the posters and drawings that Cassia filled hers with. His son was clambering into bed - now in his pajamas - with that dog bounding up with him, taking up more of the bed then Antonius did. He was looking possibly melancholy behind his usual unreadable expression, it was hard to tell because he never really seemed happy anymore.

"Are you okay?" Atticus asked him gently, sitting on the bed beside him and reaching out to touch his shoulder. Antonius glanced at him and nodded, "Are you sure?"

"I'm fine," Antonius insisted and shrugged off his hand but Atticus still got the impression he was bothered by something, he just had no idea how to get him to open up or how to help him. It was hard to help someone when you weren't even sure what specifically was wrong, "I'm just tired."

"Alright... But you know you can talk to me about anything, okay?"

"I know," Antonius reaffirmed and Atticus nodded unhappily as his son lay back down, he tucked him and kissed him on the forehead like he always did.

"Night, sleep well," Atticus offered with a kind smile before going to leave but to his surprise, Antonius sat back up and hugged him.

"I love you, Dad," Antonius whispered and Atticus held his son close.

"I love you too," Atticus assured him.

He waited or possibly hoped for his son to say something else about what was bothering him, if he was alright. But he didn't, Antonius pulled away after a minute and lay back down in bed. He wished Skye was there, she would know what to say him and to Cassia, she'd know what to do. She was the better parent. Atticus resisted the urge to say as he tucked him back in and gave him another kiss goodnight, even petting the hulking mass of dog - and was rewarded by a slobbery lick of his hand - before rejoining Cassia.

* * *

Lucy Weasley sighed unhappily on Christmas morning, she still felt strange being around her father when she had accidentally killed his fiancée last year. Not that it really mattered while Molly was there, all he'd talked about all summer was how she would get her NEWTs and work at the Ministry with him. Things Lucy could never do because she was stuck being a Squib, she hated being a Squib and felt even worse now that Molly was of age and could do magic whenever she wanted. She wasn't looking forward to spending the day at the Burrow, surrounding by people who could all do magic except her. Even the blasted baby, Vale, had shown signs of magic. A baby was more powerful than her.

The fourteen year old sighed again as she walked down the stairs Penelope had died on, first she had to get through the present opening. While she admittedly preferred it without Penelope there, it still wasn't something to look forward to. Why should she? Seeing Molly getting gifts fit for a witch while Lucy got lame muggle things since her dad didn't know enough about muggle things to get her anything cool. The quaint cottage they lived in would never be described as cool by her muggle friends from the boarding school she went to. Molly and her dad were already up, they had no reason to delay but they had waited for her. She tried to be grateful but felt more like it was just going to be rubbed in that she was a Squib while Molly was not, of course not because Molly was the perfect daughter who got to be a witch and have everything.

"Merry Christmas, dear!" her dad burst out when he saw her, giving a smile as he came over to hug her. Lucy gave a Molly a murderous glare behind his back in case her sister got any ideas about hugging her too, Molly seemed to get it and looked somewhat saddened as she started eying the ground.

"Merry Christmas, Dad," Lucy offered and reserved a smile for him as they pulled apart, she was glad he was finally doing better after Penelope's death at least. And her mother's from years before, Lucy still missed her mom.

"Come on now, let's get to the presents," her dad said eagerly as he went back over to the tree, "Molly, I'd like you to go first."

Lucy followed and failed to ignore the pang of bitterness inside her heart, of course he'd want Molly to go first because she's the perfect daughter. Her dad gave Molly a wide smile though as he reached behind the tree and withdrew a broom, the handle was a sleek black wood in contrast with bristles of such a clear whitish-gray wood, the names also appeared to be engraved on it in white letters. He handed it to Molly, who looked somewhere between confused and surprised before a smile slipped onto her face instead at her new gift. Something Lucy could never have because she wasn't a witch.

"You got me a broom?" Molly wondered in amazement as she gazed at it.

"Yes, I know how much you love your Quidditch and it's your last year," their dad explained, looking somewhat proud, "I wanted to get you something I know you'd enjoy, a reward for all your hard work."

"_Fallstar_?" Molly read off, clearly not recognizing the name, "I haven't heard of it."

"That's because it's not on the market yet, it's only just been approved by the Department of Transportation as safe for mass production. I had to pull a few strings to get it in advance like this but it's worth it, it's currently the fastest broomstick in the world."

"Wow," Molly breathed, her smile on widening as she gazed eagerly at the broom as if desperate to fly it. Lucy curled her lips in disgust, at least Molly was capable of being able to ride a broom. She turned back to their dad, throwing her arms around him, "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome."

Lucy stalked off and snapped something about needing the toilet, fed up seeing her sister being the center of attention. Stupid Molly. Look at her, she got a pocket watch for her birthday because she's a witch coming of age. Look at her, she got a fancy new broomstick because she's a witch who can fly. Stupid Molly. Stupid magic. Lucy just hated it, she wanted to be magic too! Why was everyone born into magical families magical except for her?! Why out of twelve cousins did she have to be the only one incapable of magic?! She stormed back to her room and kicked the doorstop way in frustrated anger which caused the door to close behind her.

"Don't scream sound or I'll kill you," a voice offered threateningly and Lucy jumped in surprise, looking up to see a stranger sitting at her desk with the chair turned to face the door. He was surprisingly good looking for an older guy, maybe in his forties. His short, messy dark brown hair was spattered with gray his eyes had the color and strength of steel, his wand was aimed at her and he was dressed in wizard robes. More identifiable then that, he had the Soul Eater's skeletal snake symbol embroidered onto them.

"What do you want with me?" Lucy wondered fearfully, desperately trying to sound brave despite the fact her heart was now thundering in her chest and wasn't even sure if her voice was audible over it.

"Nothing bad, I promise."

"That's why you're aiming a wand at me?"

"If I didn't then you'd run," the man pointed out which she could concede was quite accurate, "I've actually come to offer you something good, something that could change your life for the better."

"Like what?" Lucy scoffed dubiously, wondering what in the hell the evil organization could want with her. The man smiled.

"Magic."

"Magic?" Lucy repeated in surprise and the man stood - he was quite tall - but kept his wand on her, although his gaze was clearly and deliberately going to the muggle things.

"It must be hard being a Squib. Being born into this big magical family of heroes, seeing the way life is supposed to be with magic, looking forward to the day that you two could wield a wand. Only to discover that they day will never come," the man said as he reached her, Lucy looked down and swallowed. He'd said nothing that wasn't true, for a Soul Eater he was being surprised not evil, "But what if I told you that the day could still come?"

"I don't understand?" Lucy wondered as she looked back up to him, up close seeing he was rather in need of a shave, "I'm a Squib."

"What if I told you that we have a way of giving you the ability to use magic?"

"I'd probably think you were lying," Lucy admitted and the man laughed as he stepped back.

"Why would I lie about that? It's already happened accidentally, a _muggle_ is now capable of doing magic. The Master wants to see if it can be done again, purposely this time."

"And you want me?"

"We thought a Squib would be more receptive then picking a random muggle off the street," the man pointed out with a shrug and Lucy tried to be angry, she was supposed to hate the Soul Eaters. They were evil. They had killed her mother, her Uncle Charlie, her Aunt Fleur but her fluttering heart was filled with nothing but hope. Was it really possible that she could be magical after all? "We also know you killed your stepmother-to-be, figured you'd be a better fit into our organization."

"That's the catch? Joining you maniacs?" Lucy questioned, trying to hide her terror that they knew about Penelope and feeling disgusted at the thought of joining her mother's killers despite the offer. Magic. She might really be able to do magic.

"You don't have to join us per se but you would certainly need to agree to an alliance, to not stab us in the back when you get what you want. The catch is much worse."

"What is it?"

"Your soul," the man said and Lucy felt a shiver snake down her spine, "Magic is part of your very soul so naturally to correct this, your soul would have to be tampered with."

"And you think I'd agree to that?" Lucy demanded, trying to be outraged but it made more sense after he said that and the man shrugged again.

"I would. I couldn't imagine living like you do, skirting the edge of the magical but incapable of ever being a part of it. What life is that? Is that really what you want?" the man asked of her, "If it's not worth it to you then you don't deserve it if you ask me. If you don't think it's worth it then we're not going to force you though, if you refuse then we're not even going to kill you. Only erase your memory of the offer. It's entirely up to you whether you take the risk to climb to new heights or go back to your mundane existence as a Squib. What do you say, Lucy Weasley?"

"I... I... erm..." Lucy babbled, she knew she should say no, she knew she should have nothing to do with those people but... _magic_. The chance to do magic. Was she really going to turn away from that? Was it really worth the risk of her soul? She bit her lip, "Can I think about it?"

"I-"

The man started to speak but was cut off as the door was opened, Lucy thought she should have realized her family would come looking for her. Without hesitation, the man's wand arm jerked in the direction of the door and a blinding burst of green erupted from it that seemed to reach every corner of the room. Molly was the target and with surprising reflexes, threw herself out of the way of the curse. Their dad was standing behind her though, his mouth open as if he was also about to speak but the spell struck him square in the chest. He was thrown back lifelessly like a rag doll tossed aside, he was unmoving when he thudded to the ground and his head lolled. Glasses now askew, his eyes sightlessly staring and his mouth still open as if he'd been about to speak. Dead.

"NO!" Molly screamed in anguish, drawing Lucy's attention back to her sister and lashed out with her wand while jumping to her feet.

The incantation was non-verbal and had no light but it looked as if she'd slashed the man's face with a knife. He howled in pain and clutched at his face as blood spurted out, he vanished with a crack. Lucy stood there frozen, unable to process what had just occurred. Molly was trembling uncontrollably and looked as if she was blinking back tears, their dad was really dead. Lucy felt the tears bubbling from her eyes and tried to rush her fallen father but Molly held out her arm to stop her.

"Are you okay?" Molly asked of her worriedly and Lucy simply nodded through her tears, "Did he say what he wanted with you?"

"No," Lucy's lies left her lips before she'd finished deciding what to do and Molly nodded, seeming to believe her.

"Come on, I need to get you to safety."

"But Dad!" Lucy protested in a sob and liquid leaked from Molly's eyes.

"He's... He's gone now but he'd... he'd want me to get you to safety, more could... could come," Molly pointed out tearfully as she apparated them to the Burrow.


	9. Chapter 9: Family

_**Parts (34-37)**_

* * *

**V  
**

**Chapter 9  
**

Family

* * *

**Part 1: **Reconnecting

* * *

Vern stood in bathroom, staring at himself in the mirror. His emerald eyes stared back and his stringy brown hair - now fully grown back - did its best to cover them, he'd always hated his eyes. Both his parents had blue eyes but he had green, more akin to a Potter's then a Dursley. His hair was like his mother's for sure, except hers had been much longer. He wasn't sure who he looked like, no matter how hard he stared at his reflection he didn't know. He knew what his scrawny face looked like, what he didn't remember where his parents' faces, not enough to tell who he took after in regards to facial structure. How horrible a son was he? To not remember his own parents faces? He didn't have any pictures, why would anyone think he cared about pictures?

He sighed and hung his head. It was Christmas morning, a time he'd come to dislike. Christmas break had been the last time he'd seen his parents after all, the last time he'd seen their faces, heard their voices, felt their arms around him as they hugged him close. The very last time. It would be three years in February since they died, it managed to feel like just yesterday and a life time ago all at once. He still missed them, it still stung when someone made an off-hand joke about how lucky he was to not have to deal with nagging parents. He tried not to think about it mostly, he'd just feel sad if he did but he found his mind on the subject more and more since his ordeal. Dark Magic wounds cut deep and the tainted wands made them hard to heal and he still got twinges sometimes, echoes of the pain from when they'd been caused.

He still had the scars on his chest and on his arm. His arm had actually been severed clean off from below his elbow anyway, the Shadows had taken disarming somewhat literally and only Michael's quick intervention had made them able to save it. Not many people knew that, he didn't go into detail unless people asked and they rarely asked. It seemed like nothing compared to some of the hell his friends had been through, he knew how badly Orous was effected by his ordeal and still struggled with it, he saw how Maurice was still a product of the way they'd twisted his mind and deprived him of a childhood, Latimer had actually driven to try taking his own life. His injuries were nothing compared to things like that so he didn't say, he didn't complain. Even about his parents death, it wasn't like he was the only to lose a parent and he didn't want to sound ungrateful to the Potters. They had taken him in, regardless of why. It did not do good to dwell on things anyway, life moved forward not back.

Yet he found himself thinking about them both, thinking back to the moment he was sure death was imminent and he knew how worthless his life was. If he died no one would care because he _had_ no one, his parents were gone and the other Dursleys had ditched him, he was an obligation to the Potters and friends had a habit of leaving you whenever you accidentally did a freaky thing. He didn't know why he was so hung up on it but he was, it hurt to be hurt and it hurt to think he had no one. And on top of that, it had all been for nothing. Had fighting saved Cassia like he'd hoped? No. Had fighting stopped them getting the Scepter like he'd hoped? No. His life was so worthless that even almost losing it wasn't enough to make a dent of difference in the grand scheme of things. It was all just loss and failure. That's why he'd tried so hard at Quidditch last match, he'd just wanted a win. Even with something as trivial as a Quidditch match, he'd wanted to prove to himself that he could do it, that he could actually succeed at something. But he hadn't. He couldn't possibly have tried any harder and they'd still lost, even his best wasn't good enough. It was just another loss.

"VERN! YOUR BROTHER'S HERE!" a voice yelled from downstairs.

Vern pulled on a coat as he headed down, after all these years his brother suddenly wanted to see him. He thought he'd be happy but mostly he just felt suspicious, why now? He reached downstairs and was surprised when one of the Weasleys burst out of the fireplace from the Floo Powder, it was Bill and he was looking rather distressed. He was probably just upset about Dom being married to Aurelius still. His brother was also there, Malcolm. He was a year older then James and tall still, mostly because of the long neck he had but less lanky now he seemed to have more muscle on him. He had sharp sapphire eyes like their mother and blond hair like their dad, he'd cut it shorter since Vern had last seen him but it was still hanging down his neck somewhat. Malcolm was wearing a biker jacket now, one of his ears was pierced too and his elder brother smiled when he saw him after leaping in shock at Bill's appearance. Vern didn't return it.

"Hey Bill, what-" Aunt Ginny started to say but Bill cut her off.

"Something happened. You probably want to sit," Bill told her seriously and she immediately looked worried, "In fact all of them are going to need to know this and then come to the Burrow."

"What's going on?" Vern asked worriedly, sensing something bad was up, "Will I still get to see my brother?"

"It's best you come with us, we don't know what they wanted with her."

"C'mon not even for a quick walk? I biked all the way here and see my brother. It's damn freezing, out there," Malcolm piped up, ever the considerate kindhearted boy.

"Alright, just be quick," Aunt Ginny brushed it off and Vern decided to hurry out with his brother before she changed her mind, "So what happened?"

"What's up with the fireplace guy?" Malcolm questioned curiously as they walked away from the house and into the icy wind swirling snow around them.

"Dunno. His daughter married someone a lot older, he's always pissed off about it," Vern pointed out, trying to make light of it although he had a feeling it was more than that this time. Still, worrying Malcolm about it would probably just scare him off, "So what do you want?"

"What? Does a guy have to want something to check in on his little brother?"

"You haven't spoken to me in three years," Vern stated angrily.

In fact, he surprised by the anger in his voice. It wasn't until then that he realized he _was_ angry, they were supposed to be his family and they'd just abandoned him. He hadn't wanted to be with a magical family just because he was magical, he'd wanted to be with_ his_ family. But they'd just left him to rot. They hadn't written, they hadn't spoken, they hadn't given a damn when he'd almost died. To his credit, Malcolm managed to look somewhat guilty and sighed. Vern waited for him to say something but he didn't instead they simply carried on walking randomly, the streets oddly deserted on Christmas day in the snow. Malcolm looked very much like he was trying to think through his words before finally stopping at a random bench, he sat and Vern sat by him.

"I was the one to find them, you know?" Malcolm spoke up finally and quietly as he looked back to him while Vern looked away sadly at the painful memory of loss, Malcolm also sounded like he was having a hard time saying it, "Our parents. I came home and... and... Well let's say it wasn't pretty."

"Werewolves don't leave pretty wounds," Vern confirmed quietly, trying to shove the image of his parents' mangled bodies from his mind.

"Believe me, I know. Not a day goes by when I don't think of them, when I don't think of you. The last conversation I ever had with Dad was when he was nagging me to write to you, he was still annoyed about Christmas and wanted us to write. He thought writing make us closer or something, I wasn't really listening. And I regret that now," Malcolm admitted guiltily and Vern looked back to him, Malcolm was the one eying the ground now, "It was tough. Real tough. Honestly, I had a really hard time with it. I don't know if it's because I'm the one who found them or I'm just a pussy but it was hard and for a while it was hard to just get through the days, I had trouble focusing, in games, in grades. But it got easier and I started feeling better about it again, my grades improved - I'm no genius but I'm not a moron - and I got back into football again, I focused on that, focused on normal things."

"Well good for you."

"Yeah. But then there are you. Uncle Harry told us when you got hurt and I remembered all that stuff dad had been saying, it was so long ago that I don't even remember why I was such a jerk to you half the time," Malcolm told him and looked back up at him, "You could've died and the last thing you would've remembered of me is when I was being a jerk to you. That's not what Dad and Mum would've wanted, what's not what _I_ want. The magical world just scares the shit out of me, it took a while to work up the courage to do this but I wanted to see you. I'm sorry for the things I did and said. I want us to be brothers again."

"Really?"

"Yes, really," Malcolm insisted, meeting his eyes and there was surprising sincerity, "I want you to come home with me, blow off the Potters and come back to your real family. I can take care of you, you can go back to regular school and grab a few grades before college."

"You want me just to drop everything and go live with you? Quit Hogwarts?" Vern wondered incredulously and Malcolm nodded, "I can't just stop being a wizard, I can't not be magical. It's not a career choice, its part of who I am. It goes right through to your soul."

"I didn't stop being a wizard, you can still do that but just live with the magic training you already have. Just stay out of the magical world before it kills you, just like it killed Mum and Dad."

"I can't- I can't do that, Malcolm," Vern protested, still reeling from the suggestion, "I have friends, a girlfriend, I'm on the Quidditch team."

"You can make new friends, there are plenty of girls in the world and there are plenty of sporty extra-curricular activities you can do in high school."

"No, people depend on me. There's a war going on, I can't just walk away from that."

"Yes you can!" Malcolm yelled at him, "You're fourteen years old, you're not a freaking soldier in the army. Walk away from the war and stay away before it gets you killed! It's not your fight and it's not your world!"

"It _is_ my fight!" Vern yelled back determinedly, "The Shadows have hurt my friends, they_ killed_ our parents! I'm not going to walk away from that- I _can't_ walk away from that! I have to fight, Malcolm, I _want_ to fight. Someone's got to do something and it's sure as hell not going to be the morons in the Ministry who did nothing while Greece was taken over! I'm going to fight until my dying breath no matter what."

"I'm not going to convince you, am I?" Malcolm sighed heavily as his anger faded, freezing out in the cold weather and Vern shook his head, "Well don't say I didn't try, Vern."

"I'm sorry, Malcolm, I can't leave the magical world," Vern apologized and decided to add hopefully, "But I wouldn't mind leaving the Potters."

"Grandma's not okay with you living with us so long as you're still in Hogwarts," Malcolm pointed out with a shake of his head and Vern was sure the disappointment on his face showed because he sighed as he added, "But maybe we can still stay in touch? I would like that."

"I'd like that too," Vern admitted quietly.

"I think Dad would've liked that too," Malcolm added with a sad smile before pulling him into a hug, Vern held his brother tightly for a minute before the pulled apart except this time Malcolm's grin was mischievous, "So this girl of yours, she cute?"

* * *

Roman stood outside under the falling snowflakes, eyeing the little muggle cul-de-sac that Wyatt had apparated him too as Scorpius had told him instead of Roman where he was supposed to go. He didn't care for it, it was too much of a built up area and the muggle homes all looked so bland and blocky, devoid of charm or character. And then there was the... the... erm... well Roman didn't remember the name of them but they were metallic, had wheels and muggles travelled in them. Of course everything was covered by a blanket of snow right now. He still didn't like built up areas though, he preferred the countryside.

"It's that one, right there," Wyatt offered brightly and gestured to the house right in front of them, "Alright?"

"Yes, I am capable of seeing a building a few feet away," Roman said somewhat testily as he wasn't stupid to which Wyatt simply rolled his eyes, apparently used to him by now. Somewhat ironically, since Roman still wasn't used to himself. He wasn't supposed to be alive and he hated pretty much everything he learned of his life, he had every right to be grumpy.

"Well, have fun, Rome."

"Where are you going?" Roman blurted out in fear as the younger man went to turn away, panicked at the thought of being alone with random strangers and remembering he still hadn't given Wyatt his gift. Wyatt turned back to him with a shrug.

"See how my sister's Christmas is going with that guy she's shacking up with, he's a werewolf so I'm sure if he'll still be weak from the full moon in which case I might stalk my dad instead or visit Rudy's grave. I've been meaning to do that."

"Why?"

"One of the people I have to spy on is the man who killed my roommate, just keeps making me think of him," Wyatt pointed out, his usual cheerful demeanor replaced by a severe expression, "That or turning back into a human and killing him like he killed Rudy."

"I meant why do people visit graves, it's kind of morbid, isn't it?" Roman elaborated, annoyed he'd had to explain what he thought was obvious and Wyatt laughed.

"Oh right, I don't know. To feel closer to them I guess, works for some people."

"Well I guess you're a good friend."

"We were a little more than that," Wyatt muttered and went to turn to leave again, Roman didn't know what that meant but his leaving did make him recall why he'd wanted him to stay a moment.

"Wyatt, wait!" Roman insisted as he recalled the gift, apparently that was a thing that happened at Christmas and he wanted to make sure he had the practice of gift giving down before seeing his son. It had seemed to go well with Annie but she was a female and his son was a male so it might be different. Wyatt turned back to him again, he pulled out the bag of gummy worms and dumped them in the animagus' hand, "Happy Christmas."

"You got me a present?" Wyatt wondered in surprise, looking at him as if the thought was incredulous.

"It's a bag of gummy worms," Roman pointed out, using the same wording he had with Annie except he'd gotten her fire whiskey since she seemed to like alcohol despite the fact it destroyed your brain and your body, "You're always eating them despite the fact they rot your teeth."

"Thank you," Wyatt offered with a grin as he immediately popped a handful in his mouth, Roman thought he definitely had gift giving down.

"Good. You can go now," Roman shooed him away as he headed over to the door, he heard a chuckle followed by a crack indicating disapparation.

Roman sighed and shuffled his feet nervously in the snow, he wondered if it was strange he was more frightened of meeting his son and the muggle father then the thought of Shadows or Aurors potentially finding him. What was to be afraid of? He could apparate to safety, he couldn't be killed by the Killing Curse, Annie was there to deal with injuries and even if he died, so what? He was only going back to the state he belonged in, he should be dead after all. He wished Leila was there, she knew what to say to people and let him hold her hand so he didn't feel so afraid. Of course if she was then he probably wouldn't see Orous at all, in a way he would prefer helping her try save her son over the awkwardness of meeting his son. He just missed her in general. Despite his annoyances with Varanian's... 'not-a-group' of people, they were decent people and had been good to him. He respected that, he even appreciated that but he still didn't feel as close to any of the as he did with Leila. He hadn't even told Varanian about their relationship, it was too personal to talk about to other people.

He sighed, trying to push thoughts of her aside as he worked up the courage to knock several times on the door. It was opened by a bald man who immediately caused his head to swim with an image of using the Healing Ankh that Leila had given him, watching miserably as he sacrificed a special and ancient magic to save a muggle man only his son cared about. He completely zoned out to whatever the man was saying though, he was looking much healthier though and his hair looked shaved bald rather than from aging but he deduced the guy was a natural blond from the color of his eyebrows. Three four legged things bounded over to them, he thought they were dogs and for some reason that bothered him slightly.

"I prefer cats," Roman heard himself saying with a scowl before feeling immensely confused, he was sure he had a reason for liking cats, something that had mattered to him but he couldn't remember, "I don't remember why."

"I'm sorry to hear that, would you like to come in?" the man offered kindly, Roman didn't remember the guy's name.

"Alright," Roman agreed hesitantly and the man let him pass into a living room/dining room, there was a couch and two armchairs around a metallic box thing and behind the couch was some dining table in front of a rather large window that let in a lot of light. It looked quite neat as if it had been cleaned recently, possibly in preparation for his arrival. The dogs started sniffing him rather irritatingly, however there was a delicious aroma coming from somewhere. It reminded him of his gift for the muggle, "What was your name again?"

"Cade Knox," the muggle pointed out and Roman nodded, committing the name to memory as he withdrew the apple from his pocket and handed it to him.

"Happy Christmas. I didn't know what you'd like so I got you this. It's an apple," Roman told him deadpan like the others while Cade looked at it oddly, "They're a fruit, healthy for you and quite tasteful. I don't know if you have apples in the muggle world. Much better then gummy worms or alcohol."

"Thank you. And for the record, we do have apples and fruit in the muggle world."

"Oh. Well I guess that was a rather lame gift then."

"Roman," a new voice said, sparing Roman from the awkward conversation with Cade.

He turned to the speaker and saw it was a teenage boy, a bit younger then Scorpius. Scorpius was pale but this boy was beyond, his flesh almost seemed devoid of color it was that bad. Scorpius also had very white-blond hair but this boy's hair was white, pure and simple. White. Like the color of the snow outside. The boy's was also longer, nearly shoulder-length with a slight wave to it. His eyes though were probably the most striking, on a sea of alabaster were crimson eyes. It looked almost demonic... more memories came to him, seeing the eyes for the first time on an infant and passing out, caring for the baby and being disturbed by it because... _was_ Roman just a horrible person? Who thought that about a baby? He remembered seeing him again as a teen, the full - or fuller - memory of saving Cade, vaguely meeting him in some village and - surprisingly vividly - the boy being there when his soul was destroyed. In fact the boy had been the one to do that, Roman was oddly upset by that. Why hadn't he just let him die? He was already dead, why would he do that?! Then again, Roman had abandoned him after all so why not be sadistic and make him suffer a half-life?

Orous Knox... What had happened to Lathan? He was pretty sure he used to be called Lathan. Roman had picked the name, hadn't he? Did they just drop that? Orous - or Lathan - approached him anyway, he smiled but looked somewhat uncertain as if he wasn't sure whether to or not he should smile. Roman wondered if he should return the smile but he didn't feel like it, he didn't feel happy but just sad. The boy was fourteen if he recalled but he had so few memories of him because he hadn't been there, he hadn't been part of his son's life. Had he even tried? Had he even cared? He was just a terrible father either way, what was wrong with him? The paused stretched on into an awkward silence, Orous' arms twitching as if going to hug him then thinking better of it then starting to raise his hand as if to offer it to shake but thinking better of it. Then he just looked rather unhappy.

"Happy Christmas. I didn't know what you'd like so I got you this. It's a stuffed unicorn," Roman offered and retrieved the toy, shoving it at Orous, "I don't know why, I felt like it had significance somehow."

"Thank you," Orous told him quietly.

"I have to go check on dinner, I'll be back," Cade pointed out before abandoning them to head through a door to the side, thankfully it caused the dogs to follow eagerly. But it also left him alone with Orous.

"I-I erm... I got you a present too," Orous stammered out nervously, "Wait here."

Orous bounded away and Roman couldn't decide whether he felt more or less comfortable to be alone, he wandered over to the couch and sat down. He noticed for the first time a tree in the corner, a green conifer that had been stupidly draped in sparkly things and had brightly colored baubles decorating it, there was also a gleaming golden star on the top. His eyes had just started to drift to the assorted photographs, mostly of Orous or Cade or the dogs, some of people dressed in stupid looking uniforms. Orous picked that moment to return, carrying a small box covered in gaudy paper with a bow on top. Muggles were just strange. Orous came over and sat beside him, handing him the box.

"Happy Christmas, Roman," Orous offered with a frightful smile, looking rather nervous over whether he'd like it or not.

"Thank you," Roman told him, deciding to spare the boy's feelings and not tell him how ugly looking it was. Orous had tried and that mattered more to him, there was nothing he wanted anyway. Orous looked slightly confused though.

"Aren't you going to open it?"

"It opens?"

"Oh, I-I'm s-sorry," Orous babbled and blushed in embarrassment, "You t-tear off the paper to get to the gift inside."

"Oh right, sorry. No one... No one mentioned that," Roman admitted, feeling rather foolish himself as now his gifts were worthless because he hadn't wrapped them the way you were supposed to. He sucked at this. He tore off the paper, rather disliking ruining it - even if it was ugly looking - to reveal a small, plain box.

"It's okay, I know what it's like. Trying to remember, even basic things," Orous explained and swallowed, looking sadder now, "It gets easier."

"Do you ever stop feeling like you shouldn't be alive?"

"Not yet," Orous said with a shrug although at least he sounded more sure, "But it gets easier to ignore it when you feel more connected to the world, when you have things to take your mind off it... And erm... The gift isn't the box, it's in the box. You're getting closer."

"Oh right," Roman muttered again, feeling even more foolish as he lifted the lid. It was a ball, a small golden ball that was about the size of a walnut. He picked it up and small silvery wings popped out the sides, he let go of it in surprise and it hovered in front of him. He reached out to catch it and another flood of memories came over him, this time of flying in the air and snatching that ball - the _Snitch_ \- out of the sky and feeling victorious. At least they were some good memories, "It's the Golden Snitch... You catch it and... win?"

"Yes," Orous confirmed with another nervous smile, "It's from Quidditch. I play Seeker and I remember... I remember that you said that you played that too so I thought... thought it might... be erm... be good."

"Thank you," Roman offered gratefully and returned the smile as much as possible, feeling uncertain on whether it was right or whether he should say something else or do something, "It is... It is good."

"I was going to give it you for your birthday but I... I didn't know when it was except in the August sometime."

"It's alright, I don't remember when my birthday was either except that it was the August sometime," Roman pointed out with a shrug, it was the truth. He didn't think he liked his birthday very much or Christmas come to think of it. Orous and Maurice's birthdays were probably soon though, "I imagine your birthday is pretty soon."

"Well not really," Orous told him and Roman scowled, he thought for sure it had been the winter. Leila had mentioned her son's birthday was in January, allowing for the time for pregnancy it meant a spring conception and he'd assumed she'd have waited a few months before moving on.

"Is it in the spring then?" Roman wondered, it was cutting it a little closer but he supposed it was still perfectly plausible especially if it was early spring.

"No, it's July."

"July?" Roman repeated, feeling utterly bewildered now.

From what he knew, he'd left Leila after he'd seen Maurice on the boy's birthday time after being forced to join the Shadows but that being July would mean that Leila was already pregnant at the time. She'd either cheated on him or... or he _was_ the father who'd left, she had never said he wasn't. He felt as if a vice gripped his heart, the woman he loved had either betrayed him or he had another son whose life he'd missed out on. He just _was_ a terrible father. And Leila's son - possibly his _own_ son - was out there, lost in the land of the Shadows. Or worse, she didn't know if the boy had survived. Cyrus could be dead by now. He could have a son that he'd never even meet, who had already died a long time ago. He could have a dead son.

"Roman?" Orous questioned, causing him to jump as the teen looked at him worriedly, "Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah just... memories," Roman offered the half-truth, in no way willing or ready to talk about it.

Cade also picked that moment to return, carrying plates of food that had such a delightful aroma yet still caused his stomach to churn with nerves. He tried to push it out of his mind for now though, he couldn't do anything about Leila or Cyrus right now. He'd neglected Orous enough, he could freak out when he got home.

* * *

**Part 2: **Too Close For Comfort

* * *

Scorpius was in a good mood following his conversation with Wyatt, knowing that he had actually been making progress was a satisfying feeling. He would just have to make sure to keep a mirror handy when he continued practicing back at Hogwarts to ensure it was working. He sent a letter to Orous informing him of Roman's willingness to see him on Christmas as soon as he got back to the Malfoy Manor, knowing time was short. The following day was Sol's birthday, which caused his parents to have a slight debate over whether to do something beyond wishing him a happy birthday or just wait for the party later on nearer the end of break. His mother wanted to wait, his father wanted to do something. At any rate they went to Diagon Alley because Scorpius was in dire need of buying Christmas gifts for his friends as he had sorely neglected to do so over the Hogsmeade trips.

He was surprised to find the alley now had security, Aurors searched all four of them - even baby Sol - before letting them into Diagon Alley in the first place and did the same on the way out. Even in the actual alley there were Aurors patrolling, many of them throwing his father despicable looks as the Malfoy reputation preceded them. The added security seemed to have put people at ease - or maybe it was the desperate rush for Christmas - as it was busier than the last few times he'd been there, even if people did seem to be looking over their shoulders a lot. It didn't put Scorpius' mind at ease though, he knew for a fact some of them were Shadows. Some of them were actually members of the opposing side in the war, yet they still had the audacity to put up wanted posters for innocent people like Varanian and Roman.

Scorpius tried to put it out of his mind and focus on the presents, he really did but he just... couldn't. He still did manage to get his friends plenty of gifts each though, even buying the charm for Molly's birthday in advance as the shop in Diagon Alley had a different selection to Hogsmeade. He got her a pocket watch charm for Christmas - in honor of her coming of an age - and a star for her birthday, because she just was a star and they'd almost kissed under the star covered false sky in the Great Hall once. Before Grant had interrupted them anyway. In fact with his parents there he actually had more money to spend then usual as he wasn't relying solely on his allowance, his parents had no qualms with giving him whatever money he wanted for presents. And he thought his friends were quite wrong, it was quite normal to buy friends as well as family multiple gifts each as his mother was buying several - or several more, his father complained - for Leebin's wife and her family for Christmas.

His mother was eager as him to buy gifts in fact, she'd lost many friends for marrying into the Malfoy family and seemed delighted to have made a friend in Leebin's wife. His father seemed rather grumpy about it, grumbling as he mostly just carried the things for them. They also finally found a compromise on Sol by buying him some presents while they were out, Scorpius also managed to 'accidentally' pull down Varanian's poster and bin it before leaving. He was surprised to see Lenore there though, with the same man he'd seen her with at the platform before asking about her grades. The man - who Scorpius would hazard a guess was her uncle from what he knew about her - was complaining about the Aurors when he passed, Lenore was too focused on him to notice Scorpius or might've had to say hello. What surprised him though was the new book she'd been carrying, it was about learning sign language. When he got home he spent some time with his parents and brother, attempted to do the same with his grandmother but she claimed to feel unwell and desired to be left alone.

He spent the majority of the day after that wrapping up presents, it was Christmas Eve after all so he didn't exactly have a lot of time. The unfortunate thing was he'd sent his owl, Free, off to tell Orous about Roman so he had no way to send them as his mother had used the family owl to send off the new presents to Leebin's wife. Free only returned later that day with Orous' reply, giving him the time and new address to give Roman to meet. There was still no way Free could give the presents to everyone by tomorrow due to needing to go up and down the country - and to France for Corin - so he tried to convince his parents to let him deliver them instead, they refused but eventually compromised to deliver some.

Abby lived in the Leaky Cauldron so that was easy, giving Albus his along with any other of the Potter/Weasley/Dursley clan would take care of that so they'd do that. They didn't know where Latimer, Orous, Corin or Michael lived so they wouldn't do them, nor would they go to Hogwarts to give Maurice, Calderon - Scorpius had tried to buy him a lot to make up for upsetting him before - and the Ashain kids theirs, plus the box of chocolates as a thank you to the house elves for helping him with his date with Molly. Scorpius supposed it was fair enough, it took a load of Free anyway. They did Abby that evening since the Leaky Cauldron opened late - Abby was already in bed according to Professor Longbottom but her mother the landlady kindly agreed to give them to her - but would do the Potters tomorrow at a more respectable hour. He then went over to Varanian's hideout, gave Annie Michael's gifts to give to her nephew when she saw him and passed along the information to Wyatt to give to Roman since the other man seemed to be sleeping.

Scorpius was no longer a small child excited for Christmas but he was still looking forward to it this year, if only for Sol. While it was technically his brother's second Christmas, last year he'd been a newborn whereas this year he was more mobile and could open gifts. In fact, Sol seemed to enjoy tearing the paper off far more than the gifts themselves and was still laughing with delight no matter how many he tore through, Scorpius liked for his little brother to be happy. His grandmother also finally opted to join them, albeit begrudgingly and seemed disinterested. He worried about her, why was she even so obsessed over the Shadow Master being Voldemort's son? He'd thought it was because she'd met Voldemort but then, his father had too and wasn't obsessing. He made a mental note to ask her about it and add it to the list of things he needed to remember to as Leebin about when he saw him for the party, or as much of a party as it was with just the Leebins who'd be there.

Scorpius actually preferred watching others opening presents, seeing his brother enjoying himself or feeling pleased if his parents - his grandmother just seemed perpetually unamused - liked a gift he'd bought them. He did have to open his own though, his parents were still on their career kick apparently as many of his gifts seemed to be books about careers or biographies of people talking about their career along with some clothes and sweets. His friends had also gotten him things, although he was surprised Michael hadn't sent so much as a card. A homework planner from Rose, an new leather jacket from Molly with a Thestral of silver thread stitched into the back, French chocolates from Corin, two framed photographs from Albus which had one with him and Molly then one with Calderon. He was just looking at them when his grandmother gave a ferocious screech and almost fell off her chair, they turned to her in shock and he noticed her staring wide-eyed at the picture of Calderon.

"What's wrong?" Scorpius asked her, a mixture of worry and curiosity. She blinked a few times in surprise before tearing her eyes away, swallowing as she instead glanced at her family looking at her in concern.

"Nothing," his grandmother brushed it off, putting on an expression of calm that he wasn't entirely convinced was sincere, "I just thought it was a picture of someone else for a moment."

His parents seemed satisfied with this and they went back to their gift giving, his grandmother too although she no longer appeared disinterested but instead deeply thoughtful. Every time he looked at her, her eyes were glued to the picture of Calderon despite him moving it several times. Did she see the resemblance Calderon bore to his mother which was her sister, Bellatrix? Did she know Calderon was her nephew? She'd met Calderon before and noted he looked familiar, in fact so had Bellatrix's other sister the estranged Andromeda but neither had had that bizarre reaction at the time. What had changed since then? Nothing that he could think of. Was it something else in the picture? It wasn't like Hogwarts was anything special, his grandmother had also went to school there after all. Was he just missing something? He was sure she'd lied, she wouldn't keep staring at it otherwise. Scorpius didn't have time to think about it though as his parents wanted to deliver the gifts to the Potters before dinner, in fact Scorpius himself had mentioned wanting to go there sooner rather than later because he knew they all gathered at the Burrow later on for a big family dinner there. He could worry about his grandmother when he got back, his father apparated them both there. However Scorpius was mistaken as when he knocked on the door to twelve Grimmauld Place, he was not met with Christmas cheer but rather a solemn faced Mrs Potter who looked as if she'd just been crying recently.

"Scorpius? What are you doing here?" Mrs Potter asked, clearly surprised.

"I came to deliver presents," Scorpius answered slowly, more concerned by the fact she seemed upset, "Is something the matter, Mrs Potter?"

"Yes," Mrs Potter admitted as her brown eyes saddened considerable, so like James yet so unlike him at the same time, "My brother died this morning, Percy."

"Molly's father?" Scorpius wondered in shock as Mrs Potter nodded in confirmation, his heart immediately cringing for Molly. She'd already lost her mother and now she'd lost her dad too? He'd seemed fine on the platform, he recalled the man's enthusiasm for her graduating, "What happened?"

"He was killed this morning," Mrs Potter told him in a quieter, darker voice that had Scorpius' mind spring into panic, "Soul Eaters."

"Is Molly okay?!"

"Yes, she and Lucy are fine. Molly fought the guy off and apparated them to safety, they're at the Burrow now."

"Can I see her?" Scorpius blurted out and Mrs Potter's widened in surprise.

"She... She just lost her Dad, she's not going to be in the mood for Christmas pres-"

"I know! I don't care about that. She lost her Dad, she's probably hurting and I want to be there for her. S-Support her," Scorpius insisted and trailed off, realizing how bizarre that might sound but it was true. His girlfriend was upset and his first instinct was to be there, he may not be able to do anything to take her pain away but he could be there so she wouldn't have to go through it alone. Was he really supposed to just go back to his family and play merry Christmas when he knew Molly was in pain right now?

"I erm... that should be... be alright, that's very sweet of you," Mrs Potter agreed to his relieved and gave him an attempt at a smile before his father appeared beside him, having come over to investigate what was taking so long, "If that's alright with your family, of course."

"If what's alright with his family?" his father asked suspiciously, looking between the two of them.

"Molly's Dad died this morning," Scorpius told him and his father's eyes blinked in mild surprise, "I'd like to see her, make sure she's alright."

"I... I erm... I..." his father babbled, looking extremely torn. Scorpius supposed his father didn't want to be away from him on Christmas but at the same time... was he really going to deny him the opportunity to be there for his girlfriend in her time of need? "Are you sure you want-"

"Yes," Scorpius said without hesitation and his father scowled.

"You know... You know that..." his father started to say and glanced at Mrs Potter before moving Scorpius slightly away from the door, he lowered his voice but Scorpius was sure she could still hear, "I know you care about this girl but you know that this relationship isn't going to last, right? She graduates this year and she's going to dump you, these things don't last beyond graduation. Family is forever. Do you really want to be spending your Christmas with her and not at home?"

"_Yes_," Scorpius hissed back more forcefully, "I don't care about what happens in the future, I care about right now and right now my girlfriend needs me."

"Alright," his father sighed as he straightened back up and spoke at a normal volume, "You can go. Do you want us to pick him up when he's ready or will you bring him back?"

"We'll bring him back," Mrs Potter offered and his father nodded in understanding, looking back to Scorpius unhappily.

"Try and return soon," his father added and looked as if he wanted to hug him for a moment before simply patting his shoulder, hugging was not something his father liked to do in public, "Have f- I mean, good luck."

"Goodbye, Father," Scorpius told him as his father turned away and disapparated with a crack, Mrs Potter looked at him oddly sympathetically, "What?"

"Nothing. Best come in," Mrs Potter said as she stepped aside to allow him entry, "Albus and Lily have already gone, just Floo over to the Burrow like you have before. I'll send word that you're coming and join you soon, I'm just waiting on Vern to come back with his brother. In fact, if he doesn't get back soon then I'm going after them."

"Okay, thank you Mrs Potter."

"You can call me Ginny, you know?" Mrs Potter commented as he headed into the other room with the fireplace, "You don't need to be formal here."

Scorpius nodded but said nothing as he continued on, he thought 'Mrs Potter' was more polite. He took a handful of Floo Powder and tossed it into the flames, turning them emerald and thought he saw a glimpse of a Patronus before he stepped into the fire and gave his destination. He felt himself hurtling through space, a feeling he had long since become accustomed too before he stepped out into the Burrow. It was as cluttered and cozy ever but he could hear the wails of a woman sobbing, immediately taking him from the usually comforting atmosphere. It certainly wasn't a very happy Christmas there. He also wasn't alone as he stepped out into the kitchen, all the surviving sons of the first Molly Weasley were sitting at it along with Rose, Hugo and Lily who all had drinks while Andromeda Tonks hovered around in the kitchen. Rose gave him a wave but seemed determined to stay sitting by her father, Hugo on his other side. Were they really that desperate for time with their dad?

"Ah, Scorpius, a little horsy told us you'd be here," the one eared George commented with a thin smile that didn't successfully reach his eyes.

"I erm... I'm sorry about... your broth... Percy," Scorpius stammered out uncertainly and George nodded in acknowledgement.

"Thank you," Ron offered, raising his cup as if for a toast that everyone half-heartedly joined in for. If Scorpius didn't know any better, he'd have sworn Ron was the eldest brother. He didn't look too healthy.

"Molly's in her room if you remember where that is," Bill pointed out and gestured for him to go on through, "And when you go through the living room, come back and tell me if you see that son of a bitch kissing Dom. Or touching her. Or doing anything other than nothing so I can go in and kill him."

"Bill-"

"And that's your way of being 'okay' with her marrying Aurelius?" George wondered dubiously of his brother as an eyebrow slowly rose.

"Yes," Bill insisted, "They can be married until the day Dom realizes he's a perverted freak and she can do better but he can't do anything to her in front of me. Or under my roof. Or under the roof of anyone in my family. And the mood I'm in right now, I will actually kill him."

"Okay, I'll do that," Scorpius muttered, dumped the bag of gifts and headed into the other room although he had no intention of doing that, he didn't really care what Dom or Aurelius did but he thought it was a slightly better sign that he was Bill was at least letting Aurelius be in the building.

Dom was a pretty girl around twenty and the only one of Bill's children to have the Weasley red hair, in contrast her husband Aurelius was in his sixties and the father of both their Defense Against the Dark Arts professor and one of the Shadow Master's Lieutenants. To his credit, he was handsome and didn't look his age and could easily pass for their brother rather than their father. He had a full head of thick hair, the same extremely dark auburn color and dark chestnut that Ashylos' descendants tended to possess. They were cuddled up together by the window discussing whether or not it was a good idea to stay.

They weren't the only ones there though, Louis, Roxy, Freddie, his girlfriend Caitlin and their baby daughter were all in the more central sitting area. Louis had blond hair like his mother had had and was also good-looking, he had just graduated Hogwarts along with Freddie and Caitlin. Freddie had dark skin like his mother but Weasley red hair in dreadlocks, Caitlin was pale and their daughter had a skin-tone somewhere in the middle and bright brown eyes like her dad. Charla was the baby, named after the deceased Charlie Weasley and had been born in Hogwarts a few months ago, delivered by Michael himself. The three Weasleys were telling Caitlin about what Percy had been like, the baby was sleeping peacefully on her aunt's lap.

And then there was Albus, standing by a playpen not unlike what Sol had except it looked rather old. The baby in it was standing holding onto the side with one hand, the other was reaching out tentatively to take the small piece of chocolate that Albus was trying to coax him to take. Just when the baby would seem about to grab it, he would pull his hand back nervously and look between Albus and the chocolate before trying again. Albus was looking rather frustrated with it as Scorpius went over to him, the baby was a beautiful child but looked so thin and sad compared to bright, energetic Sol.

"Hey," Scorpius greeted him and Albus looked up in surprise, jerking his hand away just as the baby finally tried to close his tiny around it. The baby didn't cry at its lost prize, he just gazed at Albus with an expression melancholic enough to match Antonius.

"What are you doing here?" Albus wondered in shock.

"Heard about Molly's dad, I wanted to be here for her."

"Ah, well good luck. Aunt Hermione's with Lucy, Granddad is with Grandma - she's the one you can hear wailing - but Molly wants to be alone," Albus offered and popped the chocolate into his mouth, the baby hung his head, "And sorry your present was so lame by the way, I blew most my money on that camera and showering Grozda with gifts. So now I'm just stuck hanging out with Vale here. He is dumb as pig muck, honestly. Reckon Aunt Gabrielle and Cel-"

"No!" Vale barked immediately as his head shot back up and Albus blinked in surprise before continuing his sentence.

"Should have him looked at or something. Weirdo."

"Maybe," Scorpius offered, "And maybe try not calling him names, it might hurt his feelings."

"He's _one_, Scor, he doesn't have feelings and he doesn't speak English."

"Well it's still not nice," Scorpius affirmed as he left Albus to it, continued on to the room he recalled was Molly's from when she was staying there. The room that had used to be her dad's. He knocked on the door to alert to her to his presence, "Molly, it's me. Can I come in?"

"Scor?" Molly's voice came shakily from the other side of the door and Scorpius didn't wait for an answer before barging in.

It was at that moment that Scorpius realized he really hadn't thought it through, he was abysmal at comforting people, terrible with emotions. Molly was sitting up on the bed, from the position he'd have guessed that she'd been lying down before he came in. Her eyes were red from crying and her face stained by tears, her beautiful sky blue eyes were buried in sorrow. A far cry from the strong person she was usually, he hated seeing her in pain like this. She stared at him as if dumbfounded by his presence, why didn't he think these things through? He had to open and close his mouth a few times before words would come out.

"I... I heard... heard about your Dad," Scorpius managed to get out finally and her eyes welled with tears again as he approached her, sitting on the bed beside her and her eyes just followed him silently as he tried to find the words to say what he meant, "I... I wanted to... to... to be... to be... there for.. for you."

"My Dad died," Molly whispered, her shoulders started to shake as she started to cry again.

At a loss for the words already failing him, he just put his arms around her and held her close. Molly hugged him tightly back and buried her face against his neck, sobbing uncontrollably. Scorpius just stayed there holding her, his lips glued uselessly shut as he had no idea what to say as usual. What could he even say? Nothing could change the fact her dad was dead. He had no idea how to comfort her in her time of grief so he just held her instead and let her cry against him, wishing he could do more as he'd give anything to take her pain away.

He stayed with her all day while she cried, Molly may not cry very often but when she did... she really did. Not that he blamed her, she had every right to cry. She'd lost her mother and now her father, both of them killed right in front of her, by the Shadows. He didn't know the details exactly, if Molly was ready to talk about it then she would. Although she didn't simply cry constantly, it came in waves. During the dry spells, he'd talk to her or talk at her as never responded or took part in the conversation to try take her mind off it or at least break the silence. He was sure that was also wrong, rambling like a lunatic about random things. They also made Christmas dinner, not that eating was too high on anyone's list of priorities. He'd also tried to get her to eat during the quiet times, he'd not managed to coax her into eating the whole plate he'd been given for her but he had managed to get her to eat a good deal more then he'd expected, taking a few bites here and here to wear it down.

It wasn't until late that she went to bed, or rather just fell asleep and he put her into bed. He left her in what she was wearing, got her under the blanket and threw the cover back over her. He tucked her in like she was a child before finally heading to the door, turning off the lights to give her darkness to rest in. He hoped she'd get a good night's sleep at least.

"Scorpius?" Molly called out abruptly and he froze, his eyes adjusting to the darkness to make out that she was now sitting back up.

"Yeah?" Scorpius asked quietly, hoping she was only half-awake and would fall back asleep easier because he thought she could use the rest. He went back over to her, sitting on the bed to be closer to her without having to go around the bed. To his surprise, she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his for a few moments before pulling apart.

"Thank you," Molly told him also quietly and simply, sounding grateful as she searched his face with sad eyes, "For being here for me."

"I always will be," Scorpius assured her and hugged her one last time, she squeezed him tightly back, "I'll see you in the morning."

He let her go and she settled back into bed as he left, closing the door behind her and finding the Burrow was dark now. People had evidently gone home or gone to bed, which didn't bode well for the fact he was supposed to be returning to his parents at some point. He'd completely missed the rest of Christmas with his family but he oddly didn't regret it. His father didn't think their relationship would last and honestly, neither did he but if it didn't then it certainly wasn't because he didn't care about her. Because he did. Latimer had asked him before if he loved her, he still didn't know. Emotions were hard for him to figure out, it was indescribable how he felt for her but he knew it was... strong. And good. He _wanted_ to be there for her.

He reached the ground floor of the Burrow and was very glad to see that there was in fact light still on, coming from the kitchen. He went over to it, expecting to find a cluster of adults still about but instead there was only one. It was the Patriarch of the Weasley family himself, old, wrinkled and bald with only the faintest strands of hair remaining. Scorpius was rather hoping that baldness skipped a generation, his father's hairline was already receding but his grandfather had died with a full head of hair. Mr Weasley was sitting at the head of the massive table, head bent over a mug of tea as his shoulders shook gentle with silent sobs. Scorpius was about to back away and leave him to his grief but he had nowhere to go, this wasn't his house and he really needed to go home. Nervously he cleared his throat, loud enough to draw the old man's attention. He looked up in surprise and hastily wiped his eyes, he made a feeble attempt at a smile.

"Ready to go home now, eh?" Mr Weasley asked and Scorpius nodded hesitantly, approaching the table while Mr Weasley wiped his watery eyes again, "Sorry, I thought I was alright but instead I think I was simply repressing my grief to console my wife. We must take care of our Mollys first, am I right?"

"Yeah," Scorpius nodded, recalling that Molly had been named for her grandmothers.

"You're alright, Scorpius," Mr Weasley offered as he stood, giving him another smile that seemed slightly more sincere and patted him on the shoulder before shuffling over to the fireplace. Scorpius was rather surprised, he hadn't spent much time with the man before but even just now he got the distinct impression he wasn't like his own grandfather. His grandfather had been a harsh man and even in Varanian's memory, the guy had been brutal. It was rather odd but refreshing to see a grandfather who wasn't like that.

"I erm... I'm sorry by... by the way," Scorpius started awkwardly again and the old man glanced at him again, "About... About your son."

"Thank you," Mr Weasley said with a sad nod, his eyes looking like they were about to start spilling again, "It's a horrible thing for a parent to bury a child. You give them life, raise them, love them and then to lose them... You'd think it gets easier, that you'd get used to it. But you don't. You never do. Every child is a little part of you, you and the person you love. Every time I bury a child, I bury another part of myself. I only hope I die before I lose all of them. First there was Fred, and then Charlie, and now Percy..."

"I'm sure they... they were... good," Scorpius tried to say, wishing he knew what to say or at least that his mouth would form coherent sentences so he at least _sounded_ like he knew what to say. This seemed to be the wrong thing as Mr Weasley's eyes welled with fresh tears.

"They're just names now, empty words. And photographs, faded empty images. Just emptiness to those who didn't know them. They were people once, living, breathing people, full of life, energy and passion. And now they're only memories in my head and when I'm gone, so they will be," Mr Weasley told him as the tears leaked from his eyes, "You didn't know their names before I said them, did you?"

"Tell me about them," Scorpius blurted out, wanting to console him somehow and maybe talking about them would help.

He found himself thinking oddly of Varanian, he'd also lost on this day. His wife, all three of his children. Did he also struggle with it? He'd nearly destroyed his basement from remembering his wife's death alone. Ethel. Guiltily, Scorpius realized he didn't even know the names of his children, he'd never asked or even truly cared or given it a second's thought. Should he? Would it help Varanian? Did he need help?

"It's alright, just the ramblings of an old man," Mr Weasley said with a shake of his head, "I apologize, it's just been a hard day. The loss of a child is a wound that never heals. Let's get you home then."

* * *

**Part 3: **Worries and Whiskey

* * *

Michael wasn't having a very good Christmas break but he wasn't having a very good life so he supposed it lined up, he wasn't even truly sure why. He didn't want to be there, he didn't want to be anywhere. He spent most of the time sleeping in honesty, he was just tired. He didn't know why either, the full moon tended to take it out of him but that had been enough days ago for it to not be the case. Even after he slept he was tired, even when he was awake he didn't feel like getting up. He didn't want to be around the little ones, he didn't want to be around his parents, he didn't want to be around his friends either. He just wanted to be left alone. He knew he was being lazy when he could be helping out with chores and the little ones, Crystal didn't mind his lack of involvement because she assumed it was because of the full moon but he knew different. He hadn't even been bothered to buy Christmas gifts for anyone. He was a lazy douchebag but he found he didn't care.

He should feel guilty, he should feel annoyed with himself, he should want to help out, he should be glad for his family but he just wasn't. He just felt numb. Ever since he'd had to tell Scorpius about Rutherford and of course, Scorpius had ignored his wishes and gone behind his back to blackmail Rutherford. He should be angry with him, annoyed or grateful if he went by their logic but he hadn't been. He just... gave up. He just didn't care. Rutherford wanted to chain him up so he did, Scorpius didn't want him chained up so he wasn't. Clearly Michael had no say in what happened to him, no one cared what he wanted or thought, not even his closest friend because apparently he was just wrong about everything. Why should he even care? It's not like it mattered what happened to him anyway. He just wanted to lie in bed and forget about life, the world and everything.

This was made difficult by the little ones however. Flynn and Ivy desperately wanted to tell him all about how awesome school was, all about their friends, classes, out of school activities, the school nativity play they'd just been in. If they weren't telling him those things - repeatedly - then they wanted to ask him all about Hogwarts, an incessant stream of excitable questions. Albus had been right, once the novelty of magic wore off then it was just another school for him to struggle with. Agnes and Bertie were more reserved, they didn't barge in to try speak to him. Agnes gave him space to rest, thinking he needed it and Bertie barely spoke anymore. Michael knew he should probably try to talk him to about that, he suspected he had seen Jack kill his grandmother. He'd been right about Jack, Annie had confirmed in letters what she and Varanian had figured out. Varanian had evidently taught her the letter scrambling spell he'd invented so they could speak more freely, she'd also starting writing with a quill now. He hadn't told Scorpius, it's not like he'd ever believed him in the first place.

He hadn't seen Annie yet, she was off with Varanian and had confirmed she wouldn't be there for Christmas. He hadn't expected her to be since Crystal and the little ones would be there, she didn't tend to hang out with them. Jack was there though, all the time he would pop over to give gifts or bring food or help out with chores or watch the little ones while Crystal worked. He didn't want to see Jack, he didn't want to face his father when he knew what he'd done. Jack tried to disturb him more than Crystal but also gave him space to rest when Michael insisted he needed it after the full moon. The little ones besides Bertie seemed to like him though and Crystal... Jack was good at making her smile, sometimes he even heard her laugh again. It was a far cry from how unhappy and frightened she'd been with Bob, he suspected it would all go to hell again when Jack's secrets were revealed and Crystal would just be hurt again. Jack was like a bomb waiting to go off.

"Michael?" Agnes' voice questioned politely with a quiet knock on his door before poking her head in on Christmas morning, "Are you feeling up to coming down and opening the presents yet?"

"Not really," Michael said lazily, keeping himself bundled up under the covers.

"Okay, just come down when you're ready and we'll be waiting."

"Waiting?" Michael repeated in confusion.

"Yeah, we're not opening the presents without you," Agnes informed him and Michael groaned.

"I said it's okay to do it without me."

"It's the first family Christmas we've had for a long time, we're waiting for you."

"Fine, I'll come," Michael sighed as he got up, Agnes gave him a smile - or half a smile anyway - as he headed down with her.

"Since you're feeling a bit better and all, can we talk at some point?" Agnes asked of him nervously, "I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Fine."

Michael sighed again as they reached the living room where the rest of the family were already gathered, including Jack. Crystal, Ivy and Flynn were all laughing at something Jack had said. Bertie seemed to be sitting as far away from them as possible, clutching a cuddly toy to his chest and staring at them unmoving. He settled down near his youngest brother and the toddler nestled close to him, still watching Jack warily. Agnes sat on his other side as they got to the presents, Michael just wanted it to be over already. There weren't that many gifts to open really, money was still - when was it not? - stretched thin even with Jack helping out. There still were presents though, Jack and Crystal had also bought for each other so the adults had things to open as well. Michael hoped they'd chalk his disinterest in gifts up to his tiredness, or else he'd probably come across as unappreciative which he wasn't. He just didn't want, need or care about presents. Ironically he also had the most as he'd gotten things from his friends, he opened the cards but left the gifts. He didn't want to be stuck down there longer than necessary drawing out the gift-opening session and his family's attempts to draw him into conversation, he didn't see why his friends had gotten him things anyway. After that he headed back up to bed.

"I got an A on my last English assignment," Agnes told him as she joined him up the stairs, he resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He just wanted to be alone.

"Good for you," Michael offered indifferently.

"We had to do it on someone who we look up to. Guess who I did it on."

"Superman?"

"It had to be a real person," Agnes insisted as if it were obvious, "So do you know who I did it on?"

"No," Michael sighed as he reached his room and Agnes looked somewhat disheartened by his lack of interest, "I'm going to sleep for a bit now."

"But you said I could talk to you," Agnes pointed out, definitely looking hurt and he had to resist the urge to roll his eyes yet again.

"Fine," Michael agreed and lay down on his bed, Agnes followed and sat down on the edge, "What was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"I think... I think I might be a witch."

"Oh, Agnes, you're not a witch," Michael assured her and patted his sister on the back, if Annie was a witch then clearly the magic came from Jack's side of the family... Although the necklace and eyes from Crystal's side implied he was descended from Pancratius on her side, "Don't worry about it."

"But something strange happened. I was in class, we were doing art and Susie and Sophie were near behind me and they were making fun of how I'm ugly-"

"Wait, I thought Susie and Sophie were your friends?" Michael interrupted in surprise, glancing at his sister and Agnes shifted uncomfortably as she shook her head.

"Not anymore," Agnes said sadly and pointed to the left side of her face, the side ravaged by Greyback. There were deep, livid scars running vertically down the length of her face. It went through her eye, the scarred eyelid could barely open and even if it did there was only a sightless milky orb left. Her left nostril was misshapen and the left side of her lips so damaged they could only attempt to mimic the right side, "Girls like looking pretty and doing hair nice and clothes but it doesn't matter if your face looks like mine, they don't want to be friends with someone who is ugly."

"You're not ugly, Agnes," Michael told her gently as he sat up, putting his arm around her and feeling a twinge of sympathy, "There's more to beauty then how you look on the outside, who you are inside matters more. People age as they got older, wither and wrinkle but you don't age inside. You may be scarred but you're a beautiful person inside and you always will be, they may not be but inside they're ugly people."

"That's kind of what Mum says," Agnes shrugged, not looking entirely convinced but not looking so upset, "But it's not my point. They were making fun of me-"

"If they're being mean to you then tell a teacher!"

"They weren't! Would you let me finish?" Agnes protested and he sighed again, "They were just talking about how ugly I am loud enough for me to hear, not saying it to me. And I got upset and then the paint they were working with suddenly exploded and they had their faces covered in paint. Paint doesn't explode by itself."

"Maybe... Maybe they did it to themselves by accident and you just thought it exploded," Michael offered and Agnes scowled.

"Well what about when we had swimming and I didn't want to do it because you wear less clothes and everyone would be able to see more scars that Greyback did, my swimming costume suddenly grew sleeves and legs as I was putting it on."

"Well maybe..." Michael trailed off and gave up trying to rationalize it, "Look, it really doesn't matter anyway. Maybe there's another explanation, maybe you're a witch. Until you get an acceptance letter, there's no way of knowing and no point worrying about it."

"I wasn't worried, I think it would be good to be a witch," Agnes pointed out and Michael felt oddly irritated while his sister gave him a smile, "I could go to Hogwarts with you and do magic and fly, I wouldn't be a ugly freak anymore and I wouldn't be alone."

"_If_ you are a witch then you'd start after I left," Michael informed her, quite truthfully as her November birth would put her into the next year.

"It's still something though, right?" Agnes asked almost pleadingly, "Dad and Grandma died and I miss them, when you're in Hogwarts I miss you. It's good to have something to look forward to not just to, isn't it? It would still be good to be a witch."

"Maybe," Michael managed to mutter, still not keen on the thought of his little sister being a witch. Agnes looked disappointed and nervous, clearly his reaction had not been what she'd expected.

"You... You don't think I'm a bad person, do you? For missing Dad even though he was mean to you and Mum sometimes?"

"No, of course not. He's still your Dad," Michael assured her in what he hoped was a reassuring tone as painful memories of Bob brutalizing him surfaced in his mind, being 'mean to you and Mum sometimes' were not the words he would describe it.

"Okay, well have a good rest then," Agnes offered and gave him a hug before leaving him to rest, closing the door behind her.

Despite being gone most of the year, he had his own room. Agnes and Ivy shared, Flynn and Bertie shared, Crystal had her own room and so did he. It was small - those sharing needed the biggest rooms - but served his purpose, it was rather cozy really. However, he found himself tossing and turning instead of sleeping as the thought of Agnes potentially being a witch rattled around his brain. He didn't want his sister to be a witch, he didn't want any of the little ones to be magical. Hadn't they been through enough without having runes carved into their chests? Or having their arms mangled by flames? Or being turned into monsters?

He still struggled to feel through the numb fog in his mind but he didn't like that thought and it ultimately compelled him to get up, he wanted to stretch his legs. He was heading down the corridor when he heard sounds and glanced into Bertie and Flynn's room, the door was open and he saw Bertie building a block tower - one of his Christmas presents - on the floor alone. He approached his brother, Bertie looked up at him in panic for a moment before relaxing and going back to his blocks. Now might be as good a time as any to talk to him about Jack. Michael went over and sat beside him, starting to silently help him with his block tower which earned him a smile from the little guy. He struck up conversation with the three-year-old over what they were doing and Bertie gradually spoke to him until he was babbling away happily, much more talkative then when Jack was around.

"I miss talking to you when I'm away at Hogwarts, you know?" Michael offered, the pair still working on their block castle as they chatted.

"I am miss Michael too," Bertie assured him and patted his arm in what he assumed was a gesture of affection while he steered the conversation the way he wanted.

"Even since I've been back, you seem a bit quiet."

"Bertie doesn't always feel to want to talk," Bertie admitted with a semi-shrug in a quieter tone, his cheerfulness seeming to fade.

"Why is that?" Michael pressed gently and Bertie simply shrugged, "You know, sometimes I don't feel like talking if there's someone around who scares me."

"Yes," Bertie said, his head shooting to him in surprise.

"Is there someone around who scares you?"

"Yes," Bertie repeated in a whisper, looking afraid now and glancing at the door as if to check for someone coming.

"You can tell me about it, you know?" Michael assured him, putting his arm around his brother and Bertie met his gaze with frightened eyes, "You don't have to live in fear, Bertie, I'm magic and I can protect you."

"I sawed Jack do something bad," Bertie admitted after a long moment, his hazel eyes welling with tears, "Bertie is scared."

"Why are you scared?" Michael asked gently, pulling his little brother onto his lap and wrapping his arms protectively around him. Bertie snuggled into him for comfort and hugged Michael back tightly, "It's okay, I promise."

"Jack... Jack was hurting Grandma and then Grandma is dead, I was just want a drink," Bertie recounted in a tearful whisper and Michael squeezed his eyes shut, he'd known the truth but he still hadn't wanted it. Whatever his issues with Jack, he hadn't wanted his dad to be a murderer, "Jack argues with Jack, want to hurt Bertie so I can't not say to anything or to not."

"He's not going to hurt you, I'm not going to let him hurt you. Do you understand?" Michael assured him and Bertie nodded despite that he was now crying into Michael's neck.

Michael cradled him close, offering soothing words and rubbing his back gently. It was actually probably a good release for Bertie to cry out his pent up fears and secrets he'd been holding on to, sometimes it was good to get it out. He waited until Bertie was calm and all cried out before leaving, setting Bertie back to playing with his new toys and calling out a vague warning to his parents that he was going to get some fresh air. It wasn't a complete lie, he would need to walk as he didn't think public transport worked on Christmas Day. He needed to get to Varanian, tell him about the threat to Bertie. He wasn't sure if Jack would hurt his brother but he didn't want to risk finding out, he couldn't leave Hogwarts knowing his brother's life might be in danger. They had to do something about it now. The only way he knew to get to Varanian though, was through Annie or Scorpius and the latter was nowhere near him in that moment so he went to the apartment Annie and Jack shared.

He knocked but got no reply, he used his own key to get in but didn't find Annie lying on the couch there as he'd hoped. He knew she wouldn't be with him for Christmas but he hadn't thought she'd spend it with Varanian instead, apparently he was wrong. He searched around the apartment anyway just to make sure, she wasn't in the bathroom or her bedroom or even Jack's room. He paused to scowl at something else in Jack's room though, for some reason he had turned one of the walls into... color. Vibrant random swatches of color had been stuck to the wall, it was so bizarre that he could only stare. Was Jack just insane now? He just had nothing. No plausible explanation of the color wall came to mind. He backed out worriedly and sighed, running his hand through his already graying hair and using the other to rub his temple as he could feel another headache coming on. He slumped down unhappily on the couch, unsure what to do. Did he wait? Did he go back?

He groaned inwardly at the waste of a trip and stood, he had no way of knowing when Annie would return so he figured he should head back. He was thirsty after the long walk though, a drink before leaving shouldn't hurt. He went over to the refrigerator to check for anything other than tap water, the only drink in there was alcohol. Michael hesitated only slightly before taking one of the bottles, he knew it was bad for your health, he knew how bad it could make you act, recalled Bob's attachment to it all too well and knew it had an absolutely awful taste yet he still took it. There had to be some positive aspect to it that kept Annie on it, some reason to value it as a life essential. It made you feel better or took your pain away or something like that, he figured he might as well give it a real shot because he could use some relief right now. One bottle wasn't going to kill him. Even if it did, what did it matter? He opened the bottle and went to sit down on the couch, cringing at the bitter taste as he drank. After a while though, he stopped noticing the taste - he thought his taste buds had probably been burned away after the first few mouthfuls - but he did start noticing how much better he felt.

* * *

It was cold, the breeze was innocently gentle but cruelly chilling. Snowflakes tumbled gently down from the gray sky, clouds clumping together to block out the sky. The ground was already covered by snow, a pristine layer of pure white that had been unmarred before he had showed up. The snow crunching underfoot was the only sound as he left a lone trail of footprints weaving their way through the snow-covered lumps scattered around, his feet already knew the way without him having to look where he was going.

Varanian stopped when he reached the tree, the dark wood looked black in contrast with the white hillside it stood upon. The thin barren branches hung down over head, tendrils trying to clutch at the wind slipping through its grasp. It was a weeping willow, appropriately enough considering where he was. He stood beneath it and turned back to face the four slabs angled towards it, he knew he should probably change his appearance to disguise himself as it was the smart thing to do considering he was a wanted man. But he didn't, he refused to stand before his family's graves as anyone other than himself. He had a good view of the cemetery from there anyway, he could clearly see it was empty. He was the only living one there.

He took out his wand and made a gesture, casting a non-verbal spell that removed the snow from the four gravestones to reveal the speckled gray stone slabs beneath. He reached out slowly for the first time to brush his fingers against Ethel's tombstone since touch no longer caused him pain, craving any feeling of being closer to his dead family. The stone was cold to the touch and hard, as if it was a block of ice. He ran his fingers over the grooves, tracing their names and listening to the silence echo around him. Just silence, emptiness where there had once been life. Even the graves were empty, they'd been dead before the fire but it had still consumed their bodies and they'd cremated what was left. Their ashes had been scattered here though, he didn't think the ashes were still here now though. Just four cold gravestones remained no in place of people.

He wanted to cry but tears wouldn't fall, the willow would have to weep for him. He flicked his wand again, this time conjuring a bunch of Ethel's favorite flowers. He couldn't remember the name of them for the life of him - he never had been good with names, much to his grandfather's chagrin - but he knew exactly what they looked like, he did the same for his children's graves although they'd had no preference. He pocketed his wand as stepped back and gazed down at his handiwork, the flowers made it look a little less desolate. He supposed it didn't matter really, it wasn't like they were aware of it and in a few hours the snow would have destroyed the flowers anyway. The graves would still be there though, just as they had twenty-four years now.

He knew some people spoke to their loved ones here but he didn't say a word, he never knew what to say even to empty graves. They'd hate him anyway. It was his fault they were dead after all, any rational person would have just gone to another country but he hadn't. He wasn't afraid of Death Eaters, he thought he could handle anything but he couldn't. And it had cost his family their lives. He thought maybe his grandfather was right after all, he was a bad omen and people died around him. It was a cruel irony, he'd switch places with any of them without a second's thought and sacrifice himself without question even to have just saved one of them. Yet he had lived. Unfortunately, he'd rather be dead with them then to live alone. Ethel had given her life to save his in the end. As much as he wished she hadn't, he couldn't bring himself to waste her sacrifice.

And so he wound up now fighting the Shadows, the next generation of Dark wizards. But how was he supposed to succeed? He couldn't even save his family, how was he supposed to save the world? He'd just wanted to fight them because he was a fighter, because it was the right thing to do but now people kept expecting him to lead them against them. He didn't want to put people at risk, he had qualms with risking his own life but he didn't want anyone else dying for him. He didn't even know what to do, well he knew they needed to destroy the Scepter and take out the lieutenants along with Voldemort's blasted son but he didn't know how. Greece was sealed off now, which was where all but the last lieutenant was but he still hadn't managed to figure out who the final one was. Nothing he did made a damn bit of difference anyway, he still didn't feel back to full strength either.

He didn't know how long he stood there, lost in thought and staring at the cold stone slabs already being enveloped by the winter's embrace. He still couldn't cry. He reluctantly left them there in the silent emptiness, carrying the feeling with him in his heart a he returned to his hideout. He'd been expecting to be alone but Annie was still there, he'd almost forgotten she would be. Naturally, she was sitting at the kitchen table drinking instead of spending the holiday with her family. He could never understand why people wouldn't take the chance to be with family - excluding extenuating circumstances - if they had them, even he had had dinner with his in-laws before going to the cemetery. They retained a decent relationship, they were good people. He still had no luck figuring out how to get her to sober up, since seeing the state she could get herself into he was deeply concerned about her health. It didn't help when Roman gave her bloody Fire whiskey as a Christmas present.

"How'd it go?" Annie asked him with the slightest of slurs to his words, feet up on the table and sipping from a bottle of muggle whiskey that she put down she saw him. Several empty beer bottles were also there, shot glasses and the Fire whiskey was half gone.

"In-laws were alright, cemetery was cold," Varanian informed her bluntly and went to snatch the bottle from her, she was used to that by now though and grabbed it back before he could reach it. She smirked triumphantly and he whipped his want back out, casting the Summoning Charm to get it off her. The smile was wiped off her face and she looked incredulous, he attempted a smirk but failed miserably "Don't you remember who taught you that spell?"

"No," Annie said with a shrug as she grabbed the Fire whiskey up, pouring some into a shot glass and downing it, "I got plenty more where that came from. This stuff has such a kick, I love it."

"Of course you do," Varanian sighed heavily as he sat down by her, forget the world he couldn't even save Annie from herself, "But don't you think you'd be happier not drinking. You won't be able to love anything when alcohol destroys your mind?"

"Nope. Mind's screwed anyway," Annie brushed it off and poured herself another shot, downing it immediately which just had his scowl deepen as she didn't usually do that.

"What are you even doing?"

"Playing my new drinking game, it's called 'take a shot every time you nag me about my drinking,'" Annie informed him and he groaned as she started pouring her next shot in readiness.

"Don't do that," Varanian complained and she downed it, he was not in the mood for this and stood to leave in exasperation, "Well forgive me for caring! I'm not going to sit around and watch you kill yourself."

"You're standing," Annie pointed out and he just rolled his eyes as he turned away, "Can I have my bottle back then? Pip?"

Varanian ignored her as he retreated back to his basement somewhat angrily, he left it pretty dark down there. He sat and sipped from the bottle, at least if he had this one then Annie had one less to choke on. It wasn't like he didn't understand the appeal of drinking, he'd very much like to forget all the things wrong with his life too but he didn't. Because you just _didn't,_ you couldn't be selfish like that, you just had to get up and keep fighting. He didn't know why but you just did and Annie was better than that. She wasn't stupid by any means, she was a quick learner with a sharp mind, she could be surprisingly insightful and was rather observant. It pained him to think of her destroying that, there was a beautiful person with an incredible mind in there somewhere and he didn't want to lose that. Her to lose that. He didn't want her to lose that. What was he thinking?

He put down the bottle, not even a third gone but he still thought he'd had too much. She put him off drinking anyway. He tried to put it out of his mind, turning instead to his wall of information to try distract himself from her and his family. Plus he did need to think about it. He wanted to figure out what country they were going after next, maybe he'd have a better shot at stopping it if he wasn't still re-learning how to walk at the time. No one was talking about that, the important people were all in Greece.

"Pip?" Annie's voice questioned, drawing him back from his thoughts to see her heading down the stairs with another bottle in hand.

He threw her a scowl, could she not even walk somewhere without one? And why did she call him Pip anyway? He wasn't Pip anymore, he was just Varanian and even thought of himself as such. His first name made him feel too human, he barely felt like he was anymore.

"What do you want?" Varanian asked of her sharpishly as she approached him, eyes idly drifting around and drumming her fingers on the table.

"You were a good dancing," Annie commented, taking him by surprise as she gestured to a picture of him and Ethel dancing at their wedding, "Ethel... Not so much."

"Ethel was a fine dancer!" Varanian snapped defensively as he strode over, putting the picture face down.

"She kept stepping on your toes," Annie pointed out, which was rather truthful.

"I said a fine dancer not a perfect one," Varanian complained, still protective of his wife and moved her away from the pictures, "It's not like you could do any better."

"I guess not," Annie muttered quietly after a minute and he sighed.

"Did you want something?"

"Yeah. I wanted... wanted to err... urm... to... sorry for earlier. I know today is bad for you and I should have been more sensitive, I'm apologize," Annie offered, mincing her words, "I thought we could do some... magic or... something. Even the stupid Patrony spell if it makes you feel better."

"_Patronus_," Varanian corrected tiredly.

"Words are hard."

"You're too drunk to try magic, go to bed," Varanian told her strictly, prying the bottle from her hand.

"Why?" Annie questioned as he went to turn away, putting the bottle down.

"Because its late, you're drunk and you need rest," Varanian explained in a softer tone, she must be more drunk then he'd thought.

"No, why do you care? Whether I drink or not, why do you care?"

"Why do I care?" Varanian repeated, confused by the question or maybe he'd just had more to drink then he'd thought, "Because I just... do."

Annie looked at him for a long moment, he guessed she was either trying to wrap her drunken mind around the answer or was waiting for him to say more because it was so unsatisfactory. He didn't know what else to say to that so he kept his mouth closed, gazing into her eyes that glinted beautifully like sapphires in the semi-darkness. And then she kissed him.

Varanian was taken completely by surprise, he felt as if fireworks had gone off his brain as conflicted thoughts erupted into his mind, things he'd never expected to feel or to ever feel again. A giddy rush of excitement to experience a kiss for the first time in over two decades. He was too scarred. Spending so much time with teenagers was rubbing off on him, adolescence was the time for kissing and all that after all. Annie was a great kisser. Pleasure at the feeling of human contact as her soft lips locked with his, even if they tasted somewhat expectedly of liqueur. He would be fifty next year, he was far too old to engage in this kind of behavior and the age gap would be too great anyway. She was drunk anyway. Surprisingly overwhelming desire for her, it wasn't as if he didn't like her. Annie deserved better. There was too much going on for a relationship, with the war. Why would she be interested in him anyway? A desperate craving to not have to be alone anymore. And finally guilt for kissing someone other than his dead wife.

That thought was the strongest. Ethel was his wife, his one and only, the mother of his children. Even if they were dead. Annie wasn't Ethel. He still loved his wife and he always would, he couldn't be with someone else. It felt wrong to even consider it, she hadn't given her life for him so he could be with someone else. It was wrong to like Annie. It was too soon and sudden to move on. He couldn't move on. His wedding ring felt like it was burning his hand, reminding him furiously of his vows. And on that, he pushed Annie away from him as gently as possible while half his mind screamed in protest that he was being irrational. Annie looked up at him with her beautiful eyes gleaming, so different to Ethel's brown ones.

"I-I c-can't, I h-have a wife," Varanian managed to stammer out shakily, his voice suddenly sounding very small and insecure while his heart tried to beat its way out of his chest.

"Don't wizard vows have the death do you part?" Annie wondered quietly, he realized he still had his hand on her chest from pushing her away and could feel her beating as rapidly as his own. He pulled his hand away quickly.

"I'm sorry," Varanian managed to say, sounding slightly more sure of himself and Annie looked at him for a long moment with an unreadable expression. A part of his mind begged him to kiss her.

"Okay," Annie said finally and nodded as she moved away from him, "I'm sorry too."

On that note, Annie turned on her heel and left. Leaving him there to his thoughts, lamenting his decision and being glad for it at the same time. He went to take another swig of the bottle he'd swiped from her but realized she'd taken them both with her as she'd left, he sighed. He probably should have just had her practice magic even if it was futile, at least he would've been able to keep an eye on her drinking. He found his thoughts refused to snap back to anything other than the kiss, it didn't help his ring still was burning. He fingered his wedding ring, wondering whether he had done the right thing. And then he realized why it was burning and kicked himself mentally for being an idiot, it was just a message from Scorpius. He cursed under his breath and took it off to read: _Percy Weasley was killed by Shadows this morning._

"Well bully for Percy," Varanian grumbled.

* * *

**Part 4: **Mothers and Sons

* * *

Alexis "Alzay" Azubah Loren stalked the halls of the Training Tower, although it wasn't that so much anymore since controlling Greece changed things. Having so much space allowed them to set up different training areas for the little Greek brats, resources helped too as they could have Greek wand makers producing wands for them at much younger ages to begin practical training, four was the new eleven. The children were all being taken from their families to train, Specters could see the magic of people's souls so it was easy to pick magical children - even mudbloods - out to become future soldiers. Even those younger than two were to be raised in special nurseries until they were old enough to join the soldier parade. The Training Tower was only for those related to Soul Eaters or those who showed the most potential now, those who were special. Alzay really didn't care though. Not about what the Soul Eaters were doing, not about their goals were, not about how they were succeeding. She didn't care.

Her father had died. The beloved father she'd spent all of her adolescent and adult life trying to save had died. Died right in front of her. Worse than died, he'd been murdered. He'd been murdered by her own child. Maurice. And even worse than him dying because of the monster she'd spawned, he'd died protecting her. And before that, he'd been mercilessly tortured. He'd spent his last time on Earth in pain, suffering for a cause he hadn't even wanted to be a part of at the hand of a boy whose life he actually wanted to be a part of. Not that her heartless son cared of course. Maurice looked so much like her, she saw his face whenever she looked in the mirror and saw the eyes her father had once shared. She wondered if Maurice had looked at them even once as he destroyed his grandfather's life, he was beyond heartless. Her father's death had broken her, she'd been distraught to the point of being unable to function. Everything she'd worked so hard for was gone, there was just a gaping void in her heart where he'd been. And it hurt. It hurt to feel loss. But she was learning to deal with it, she refused to admit how much Pyrrhus had helped her. She had something else keeping her going now: revenge. She couldn't save her father but she could sure as hell avenge him and kill her son.

"MUMMY!" a small voice cried and Alzay blinked in surprise, turning to see her youngest son running towards her. Oathan.

The toddler was three today, it had been a year since she'd last seen him. He had fiery red hair with a slight wave to it like her and violet eyes like his father, Pyrrhus Florian, the boy was small with soft looking skin and had hybrid of their facial features. Apart from the scars, fresh and raw overlapping words engraved into his visible hands and another on his cheek where she'd slashed him for struggling. He had more beneath his robes for sure. He looked happy though, so happy to see her. She felt no love for him though, only loathing. Maurice was her son too and he'd murdered her father, what was to stop Oathan being like that? Or Orous? Why should she feel anything for children that only destroyed what she loved? She'd given them life and that was how they repaid her? By taking her father's? Oathan had his arms outstretched to hug her but she lashed out with the back of her hand, sending the little boy spiraling to the ground. He looked up at her with eyes brimming pathetically with tears.

"Mummy, I misseded you," Oathan whimpered tearfully, desperately searching for her approval but she felt nothing. Maurice had been young once too, children grew up, "Mummy, I love you."

"Well I don't love you," Alzay spat at him, carefully and slowly emphasizing each word so the message would sink in which had his eyes fill with tears faster, they proceeded to fall onto her shoes.

"Please, Mummy. I do what you want. What enthing you want. I love you," Oathan pleaded and looked back up to her, rubbing his small scarred hands as tears rolled down his pathetic face, "I be good, I want go home now. I not like be soldier. I not like. They hurt Oathan. I not like be hurt. Please, Mummy, I love you. Let Oathan go home. Please not let them hurt. I be good. I miss you, Mummy."

"Pathetic," Alzay snapped and struck him again, he fell back and she kicked him while he was down. He cowered and whimpered in pain as she whipped out her wand, ready to give him some real pain, "Cruc-"

"Ah-ah, I don't think so," Pyrrhus' commented as he grabbed her wrist, jerking it upwards to ensure it didn't hit their child which earned him a murderous glare while the nutter smiled, "Come now, you can't just hurt your child because you're in a bad mood. You don't have a good reason so leave him alone."

Pyrrhus bore a strong resemblance to his son, he had the same violently violet eyes and fiery red hair except his was shoulder-length. He was in his twenties and of average height, rather pale with a girlishly slender frame she enjoyed mocking him for. Thankfully he bore a strong enough resemblance to his half-brother Xerxes Seneca - who was better than him in every possible way - to pass Oathan off as his as she had no desire the lunatic half-blood to raise their child as he had some funny ideas. Pyrrhus had been trained their as a soldier after Xerxes saved him from his abusive father, neither were things he wanted a child of his to experience which clashed with her wanting Oathan to be trained here.

Xerxes had agreed to pretend to be the father in exchange for a future favor, a favor he'd recently cashed in when he'd asked her to find his father amongst the survivors of his home country of Greece. Xerxes had killed him. She'd actually been there to see Xerxes, asking for his aid in what she planned to do but he wasn't there of course as she'd foolishly forgotten he was in the Bahamas with one of his many offspring. That was one thing she differed in opinion to him on, she didn't understand why he gave a damn about his children. They were just going to stab him in the back at some point. She still could complete her task alone though.

"It's none of your business, Pyrrhus, I can do whatever I want to my child," Alzay snapped at him as she jerked her arm free from his grasp, he cocked his head to one side and smiled pleasantly at her.

"I don't think so," Pyrrhus said calmly, still smiling but his eyes were focused as if preparing to stop her from doing something else, "I won't stop you killing him, you and Xerxes are terrible parents who don't deserve a son so I wouldn't stop that. I'm not going to let you hurt him for no good reason though."

"I am sorry, Mummy," Oathan apologized through his tears, "I am so sorry for enthing you is mad for. I am sorry. I love you, Mummy. I am sorry. Oathan is very sorry."

"Whatever," Alzay shrugged it off, she had only a limited of time and she wasn't going to waste her window on them. She lowered her wand and turned on her heel, heading off.

"What are you even doing?" Pyrrhus asked of her but she gave no answer, he'd try to stop her if he knew she was going to kill Maurice as he had a soft spot for his former mentee.

"NO!" Oathan shrieked and he heard little footsteps indicating he was trying to follow her, "Please don't go, Mummy! Please, Mummy! Please, don't leave Oathan! _Please!_"

"_Acuta_," Alzay cast lazily as she spun back round, swiping her wand vertically at her son's face now that Pyrrhus was too far back to do anything, "Happy Birthday."

Oathan howled in pain and fell back, clutching his face as the crimson liquid fell through his fingers and Pyrrhus rushed over to aid him. Alzay didn't bother seeing how bad the damage was, she didn't care and she had only a small window in which to make her move. She continued on and didn't look back, walking until she reached an apparation point to leave the Training Tower.

She reappeared with a crack that could've been mistaken for thunder, it was lashing rain there after all. Droplets assaulting the little cobbled street, it was a small, quaint muggle village out of the way and easy to forget. It was dark now, even if a muggle thought to look out then they wouldn't see anything. She strode across to the house in front of her, it was not unlike the other houses in the street. It had the same white walls and thatched roof, Alzay always thought it made homes look rather primitive and uncivilized but then muggles were, weren't they? This one had a rather large wall in front of it though as if its owner valued privacy, darkish stone riddled with ivy with a wrought iron gate.

Alzay cast a Silencing Charm on the gate to prevent against creaking before opening it, it had a very small front yard with a pathway leading to the front door while the rest was untamed grass with wildflowers as if it had just been left to its own devices. It was quite a small cottage actually, even the cross-hatched windows looked small. She approached the door and cast a Disillusionment Charm on herself, having no desire to simply knock and make idle conversation. She pulled up her sleeve, revealing the clunky stone bracelet and muttered the activation spell under her breath before tapping it. It gave the faintest of blue glows to indicate it was working and she stepped through the door, it was an ancient device Riddle had put to good use as it allowed the wearing to quite literally walk through walls or doors or even the floor, any solid surface you desired really. It was a pain to have to keep activating it though as it only worked for once use before needing the spell again, that and if you didn't move fast enough then it would assume your destination was the ground you were standing on and you'd fall through. Of course, technically she had stolen it though as she wasn't supposed to be doing this.

It served her purposes that night - or rather evening, in winter it simply went dark earlier - though, she was going for stealth. She found herself in a narrow corridor, stairs ahead, coat or cloak hanging to her left and an open door to the right. She crept in quietly and found herself in the rather small living room, there were numerous bookshelves hugging the walls which might have made it seem smaller. There was a comfortable looking couch beside the fire place with its back to her as it was facing the television set, some sappy soap opera by the looks of it was playing although the room was currently empty. She still thought the room felt oddly empty though, there was a hanging plant and a nice tapestry depicting a colorful underwater scene but... photographs, Alzay realized, houses tended to have photographs. There was only one she could see though, a muggle black and white photograph that looked at least as old as the house's occupant. It was in some kind of muggle hospital room, featuring a remarkably beautiful woman holding a newborn baby. She'd guess the occupant and his mother.

As if on cue her target appeared, coming from the door on the other end of a room that seemed to lead to a kitchen, he was holding a cup of tea which was evidently the reason for his departure. Jace Marigold, the Head Healer at Hogwarts. Hagrid, Rutherford, Elwood, Midas, Rivers, Olga-Vasille, Calderon and Marigold were the only adults currently in Hogwarts for the break, she'd had to lure one out so she could impersonate one to sneak in as to get to Maurice as he'd chosen to stay there instead of going home to Cade so she could massacre the three of them like she'd originally planned. Inconsiderate brat. Marigold was the easiest target, his only next of kin was a mother who was a mental patient and since he was all she had it was guaranteed he'd leave his post to see her if anything happened. She'd poisoned the mother, not fatally in case she was needed for future use but something to make her ill enough to warrant her son's presence. It had worked perfectly and he'd just got back from his filthy muggle mother's side before she'd gone to check for Xerxes, wanting someone to keep an eye on her prisoner while she was gone. She could still complete her plan though.

Marigold didn't notice her due to the charm, heading straight back to the couch to sip his tea. He was tall but thin, in his early forties and neither attractive nor ugly. He'd dyed his short hair black, a fact made obvious by the silver roots showing. He put his tea down on the end table, instead picking up a book beside it about casting a successful Patronus that he was halfway through. He left the television on though and was evidently still watching it or at least in part, he glanced back to it fully when two characters confessed their undying love for each other and stated making out. He sighed wistfully.

"Everyone isn't alone except for me," Marigold grumbled unhappily.

"Guess again," Alzay commented with a smirk, removing the Disillusionment Charm.

Marigold leaped up so fast he almost fell over, spinning to face her in panic and she readied to disarm him. She forgot he was a healer not a fighter though, only fumbled to draw his wand after he'd already turned to her. She always laughed at his stupidity and sent a stunner at him that he was far too slow to block, he was an idiot and was unconscious in an instant. She turned off the TV and tossed his wand aside, she put up some standard charms - namely one to soundproof the room, one to alert her to anyone else's presence and one to prevent apparation - before conjuring bounds to bind him. Fiery bonds that dug in as much as possible, she wanted him to suffer. Rutherford's blasted new security measures including a password those returning needed to give, a password she would have to torture out of him before she could impersonate him. She revived Marigold and he started to come too slowly, too slowly and she kicked him in the groin to speed up the process up. He yelped in pain but was certainly looking wide awake now, eyes bulging with fear as he glanced around and cringed at his bonds.

"Do you know who I am?" Alzay asked them threateningly as she crouched by him.

"Al-Alexis Loren?" Marigold stammered out fearfully and she angrily cruciated him, he screamed and writhed against the pain before she let go after a few moments.

"Alzay! _Alzay_ Loren and don't you forget it!" Alzay snapped at him and he nodded shakily but frantically, "So what's my name?"

"Alzay! Alzay Loren!"

"Very good," Alzay congratulated him with a smile, enjoying his fear, "And what do you think I want with you?"

"I-I d-d- err... M-Money?" Marigold guessed stupidly and Alzay rewarded him with another blast of the Torture Curse, longer this time as she relished his pain.

"I want the password to get back into Hogwarts."

"What... What password?" Marigold gave his obvious lie and she used a spell to make the air beat him before cruciating him again, his body lurching against both internal and external pain now before she let him go. He was face was damp with tears this time, pathetic.

"You know damn well what I'm talking about and I'm going to torture you until you tell me, you may as well save yourself some pain and tell me now."

To her great surprise, Marigold shook his head. She cruciated him again, leaving him to suffer until he gave in but he didn't. And she was forced to let it go, afraid of accidentally snapping his mind and ruining her plan. Like she'd done to her husband before his miraculous recovery, she still had no idea how he'd managed that. She tried beating him some more but also had to stop, healing wasn't her strong point and she needed him unharmed enough to speak. She hadn't expected him to be this difficult to break, who expected anything from someone called _Marigold_?

"Look, I really don't have time for this," Alzay complained after she let him go, he lay there trembling, "Why are you so opposed to giving me this password? Do you enjoy suffering?"

"Y-You might h-hurt the... prot-protect th-th-the st-students," Marigold babbled out barely coherently.

"I'm _only_ going to murder my son, Maurice is the one I want. I won't hurt the others. How does that sound?"

"N-No."

Alzay lashed out with another kick in frustration, making Marigold whimper in pain as she turned away. She definitely needed a better plan, she couldn't injury him too severely as anything that would do permanent damage or scar would also translate through the Polyjuice Potion she intended on using. Varanian was one lucky bastard to be born a metamorphmagus who didn't have to worry about this stuff. She heard a sound and glanced back to him, seeing him trying to reach for his wand while her back was turned. She stomped her foot down on his reaching hand forcefully, he gave another yelp of pain and she swiped up the wand.

"Wands aren't for mudbloods," Alzay sneered and snapped his wand clean in half, tossing the useless pieces aside and Marigold choked on a sob at the loss of what was essentially a limb to someone magical... That actually gave her an idea.

"I might be a half-blood, you know?" Marigold protested defensively albeit quietly, still looking very much afraid of her behind the swelling bruises.

"Do you know what this is?" Alzay questioned as he withdrew the flask of Polyjuice she'd brewed in preparation for the occasion, just in case Maurice did choose to stay instead of returning home, "Polyjuice Potion. Do you know what that is?"

"Yes," Marigold confirmed as she put it down on the table, he swallowed nervously as she crouched by him.

"It needs something of the person I'm to become," Alzay pointed out as she reached out to his hair, he flinched but she ran her fingers through his hair as if about to tear some out which she regretted as he had quite oily hair or maybe it was gel, "A shame you dye your hair though, it might dilute the potion and make it not work."

"Wha-"

Marigold's question became a scream as she magically severed one of his fingers, she moved back over to the flask to drop a blood drop in quickly before the limb realized it had been severed and would show up when she transformed. Now that was out of the way, she could do whatever she wanted to him without risking the harm to herself when she became him. She smiled and turned back to Marigold, he looked visibly ill now. His skin so drained of color she was reminded of her albino son, he actually seemed on the verge of vomiting. He was sobbing openly, clutching at his bloody hand as best he could while still bound.

She would have to stop the bleeding if she still wanted to question him. She put the finger down so she could go over to the fire and retrieve a fire poker, she cast a spell to ensure it was heated up so much it glowed orange like liquid flame before bringing it to him. She used a non-verbal spell to move his other hand away to give her space to jam the fire poker against the stump, he shrieked at the top of his lungs, howling in pain. She smiled again, glad he was suffering and only moved the poker away when the smell of his skin burning reached her. He lay there crying silently, shaking violently and looking even more likely to throw up.

"You're a healer, isn't cauterizing wounds good?" Alzay asked of him mockingly and he said nothing in reply, "Now my potion is ready there is really nothing I can't do to you so you may as well tell me what I want to know and spare yourself more pain... and limbs."

"Please," Marigold sobbed as he begged pathetically, flinching from her words and squeezing his swollen eyes shut, "Please just leave me alone."

"Tell me what I want to know then!" Alzay snapped fiercely and he shook his head again, she cruciated him yet again before dropping it, "You saved Maurice, didn't you? Treated the wounds I gave him."

"Y-Yes," Marigold admitted, seeming incapable of not shaking uncontrollably right now.

"Well, if you had just let him die then this wouldn't be happening so why don't I do to you the injuries you should have left him with? Do you remember how many times I broke his arm?" Alzay inquired cruelly.

She thought he must remember as his eyes flicked back open, trying to bulge in terror as she flicked her wand which caused a snap. He cried out as his arm jerked in the wrong direction, she did it again and again, and again. Just as she had to Maurice, watching his arm becoming increasingly bend out of shape.

"STOP!" Marigold screamed over the sound of his breaking arm, "ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! I GIVE UP! YOU WIN! JUST STOP! JUST STOP! PLEASE STOP!"

"Coward," Alzay spat at him with a triumphant smirk but stopped, lowering herself back down to his level to meet his eyes. He still looked afraid and now deeply ashamed, guilty. She was a Legilimens, it would take too long to scour his mind for the password though as what felt like seconds could be hours in reality even if she found it fast. What she did intend to do however, was use it to make sure he was being honest about the password. She just needed to meet his eyes to do the non-verbal magic, "Tell me what it is."

"Horntail," Marigold told her defeatedly and she felt the sincerity in his answer, "The password is horntail."

"See? Was that really so hard?" Alzay wondered of him as she stood back up.

She glanced at the fire poker in her hand before driving it straight through his abdomen without hesitation, near his side where Maurice had been injured too. He gasped in pain, agony becoming engraved in every line of his battered face. She left the poker in him as she turned back to the Polyjuice Potion, downing it and was surprised that it tasted like water not something horrible as she'd been expecting. She still felt as if she was ready to spit it back out though, her insides churned but she rode it out. She grabbed the edges of the table for support, waiting for the feeling of her skin bubbling over to pass. And then it did. And she was standing there intact as Marigold.

"Y-You're not g-going to h-hurt G-Gerry, are you?" Marigold's very weak and very shaky voice asked, she glanced back to see he was still alive and bleeding out slowly. His eyes flickered as if he was trying very hard to fight through the pain and stay conscious.

"Gerry?" Alzay repeated in confusion, her voice now identical to his.

"R-Rutherford, we're... we're g-good friends. Hi-His fr-friends c-call him G-Gerry."

"I'll think about it," Alzay shrugged it off, Rutherford was pretty irrelevant unless it was late enough that Maurice would be in Gryffindor Tower and she needed way in or out. Torturing him for the password might work or she could just ask for medical reasons or something since the two were apparently friends. Marigold seemed satisfied anyway or maybe he just couldn't keep his eyes open anymore as they closed, his breathing coming out unevenly as he gave the slightest of nods. She launched another kick at him, aiming for the poker and he whimpered in pain yet again but his eyes opened again, "Try stay alive until I get back, I would like to watch you die in agony after you've inconvenienced my revenge by wasting so much time."

Marigold cringed and she left him to think about that as she headed upstairs, needing to change into some of his clothes since hers no longer fit the taller man's body. She did so quickly and checked to make sure Marigold was still lying there in pain before leaving, having to get back into the raining street before disapparating to Hogwarts. She approached the sealed gate - she had to get through the gate because the protective enchantments were too strong to sneak through even with the bracelet - and patiently waited, gazing at the castle beyond that had been her home for seven years. The castle that now housed her father's killer.

"Tha' you, Marigold?" Hagrid's unmistakable voice called out in surprise as the hulking half-giant approached with a huge lantern, Hagrid still towered over her even as Marigold, "Yer back already?"

"Yes, yes I am," Alzay confirmed with a shrug, "Turns out it was a false alarm, thankfully, so I'm back. So could you please let me in? It's freezing out here."

"Alrigh' bu' firs' I jus' need the password, Rutherford's rules an' all."

"Yes, of course. Horntail," Alzay gave the password and felt a fluttering moment of panic that she'd been wrong after all but Hagrid simply nodded as he made to open the gate, "Thank you."

"Yeh welcome."

"Is Calderon back yet?"

"Nah, not yet," Hagrid confirmed, making Alzay's life somewhat easier not having to risk dealing with the son of Voldemort.

She bade Hagrid goodbye and left him to hobble back to his hut like a good little giant and headed back to the castle, walking through those huge oak doors she thought she'd never pass through again. Thankfully the layout was still the same, she went to the Great Hall in the hopes of catching Maurice as a straggler for a late dinner but Marigold had taken far longer to break then she'd thought. Not only was Maurice not there but no one at all was, the food was gone and the plates long since cleared up. She supposed she should have expected as much but she'd still hoped, now she'd have to figure out a way to get Maurice out of Gryffindor Tower. She'd try just going up to the portrait of the fat lady first, she'd try asking nicely to see him. After all, she was currently disguised as Marigold so thinking up some bogus medical reason to see him should be easy enough.

"What are you doing back so soon?" an unfamiliar voice asked and Alzay jumped in surprise, having to resist the urge to draw her wand as she spun to face the speaker. Rutherford, she'd only seen a picture of him but she recognized him still. His robes looked too tight and his scruffy dark hair seemed to blend into the night as the man approached him, "I thought your mother was ill? Or more ill then usual considering her mental state."

"Turns out it was just food poisoning," Alzay brushed it off, or she could just get Rutherford to help, "So I came back, it is important for the Head Healer to be here after all."

"Yeah, that's what I said," Rutherford pointed out with a slight scowl as he scratched at his stubbled square jaw.

"In fact, I was going over some files when I got back and I noticed something about Maurice Rivers' deafness that I want to check out. I believe it could be a symptom of an underlying condition, I'd really like to examine now right now if you could be so kind as to get him."

"Can't it wait until morning?" Rutherford asked in the slightest of suspicious tones.

"I'd rather not put it off any longer, come on Gerry," Alzay pressed with a smile, making use of his nickname to alleviate suspicion.

"Did... Did you just call me 'Gerry?'" Rutherford wondered incredulously.

That was definitely the wrong thing to say, Rutherford took a step back and seemed to realize she was an imposter in the same instant that she realized Marigold had tricked her. He whipped out his wand far faster than Marigold had, slamming up a shield before her stunner could reach him. He had his own stunner shooting back at her the second his shield was up which forced her to put up her own Shield Charm, she lashed out with an _Acuta_ but Rutherford ducked and aimed his wand at the ground instead of firing an attack back at her. She was only confused for a moment as in the next instant an ear-shattering alarm rang out and the entire corridor started flashing with blazing red light. So much for being undetected.

"WHAT THE HELL!?" Alzay screamed over the roaring alarm while Rutherford smirked triumphantly.

"One of _my_ new security measures!" Rutherford yelled at her boastfully and rather proudly, "Aurors have been alerted of an intruder and they're on their way here, you may as well surrender!"

"_Avada Kedavra!_" Alzay snapped, having no intention of surrendering as she shot the spell out at Rutherford. The attaché was unfazed, simply throwing himself out of the way and diving behind the corner of the corridor.

"Killing me wouldn't stop the alarm anyway!" Rutherford called back over the still blazing alarm and Alzay scowled, having no idea whether he was bluffing or not, "So what are you?! Varanian or a Soul Eater?!"

Alzay supposed it didn't matter, she'd been discovered anyway and she wasn't going to be able to get into or get Maurice out of Gryffindor Tower while this was happening. Her plans were ruined. Furiously she cast the Blasting Curse at the wall corner, forcing Rutherford to move away from it before aiming a more powerful curse at the ceiling immediately after. The explosion momentarily drowned out the alarm as the ceiling collapsed on top of Rutherford, burying him and also killing him if there was any justice in the world. The alarm didn't stop though, indicating either Rutherford lived or he wasn't lying.

Angrily she fled, casting a Disillusionment Charm on herself and bolting back through the halls. She discovered that Rutherford had actually been right when she got outside, seeing several Aurors rushing through. She cast another Blasting Spell on the other side to distract them and charged past, she was sure some still noticed her but she disapparated before anything could happen. Returning to the street outside Marigold's house, breathing heavily and filled with rage. She stormed back into the cottage, blasting the door off its hinges only to find that Marigold was nowhere to be found. There was a just a trail of blood leading... leading to the door, he must have dragged himself out of the way of her enchantments and apparated or called for help.

"Son of a bitch!" Alzay swore, livid with rage at her foiled plan as she stormed off again. She may have failed this time but Maurice's days were still numbered, she'd avenge her father yet.


	10. Chapter 10: Who We Are

_**Parts (38-42)**_

* * *

**V  
**

**Chapter 10  
**

Who We Are

* * *

**Part 1: **Returning

* * *

_Tommy was in a pit of hopeless despair, he figured quite literally considering how Azkaban was as well as mentally. No hope. No future. No outside world. Their lives would forever be locked up in the dark desolate halls, confined to a small cell for all eternity with the Shadows gnawing on his mind. What had he even done to deserve it? Their mother said they put criminals there for breaking Ministry laws, she was there for torturing blood traitors - she didn't think the law should apply to them since they deserved it - trying to find their father's whereabouts. But what had he and Sal done? What were their crimes? They'd just been born there, how was that right? Why did they deserve to be locked up? Why didn't they get to go to Hogwarts and have lives? Why?! He knew there was no reason why and it just made him feel worse, everything was unfair and life... life sucked._

_His misery put him into conflict with his mother, at least when he came to tears because the children of Lord Voldemort weren't supposed to be weak and cry. Some days he didn't even want to crawl out from under the burlap blanket, some days he didn't want to eat just because he didn't want to prolong his miserable life. Sal was his rock, he could always talk to her and she'd never think less of him. Even if there was nothing to say, she'd sit with him so at least he wouldn't feel alone. Or rather not just alone with a swarm of Shadows. She was sad too but she always seemed stronger than him, she didn't let it consume her like he did and didn't break down crying frequently. She urged him to try speaking to One, find out what else the Shadows were capable of to try to escape. She still thought escape was possible, she just didn't think anyone would come for them. He envied her strength and hope, he thought their mother was wrong. He should be the one in Sal's shadow, she was much more like their father then he'd ever be._

_Time dragged by, days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months. Their mother liked to point out bitterly that they should be ending a term now or starting a term or having exams, things they should be doing if they weren't prisoners. He wished they weren't prisoners, there had to be more to life than this. Their mother had decided it was Dumbledore's fault they weren't in Hogwarts, the Headmaster was being prejudiced and not allowing them to attend just because he was a filthy muggle loving blood traitor. Tommy couldn't find in his heart to hate a faceless name but anger at Dumbledore seemed to pull their mother out of her own slump of misery at least, he wasn't sure anyone but Dementors knew they existed anyway. Her rage only intensified as the year went on, she was fuming when they turned twelve at them having missed a whole year. He tried to psych himself up for the shower of the year, not wanting anymore Shadows to stalk him but the Dementors apparently decided he and Sal were safer separated which caused him to freak out and acquire another. He hated it, the more Shadows he got the stronger the call to not ignore them was or maybe it was because his mood was so poor._

_Something odd started happening with their mother though as the year went on, she was convinced her Dark Mark was becoming more black or burning. She would wake them at random points in the night to shove her arm at them or excitedly tell them she was in pain from it, she thought it was a sign that Lord Voldemort's return was upon them. Sal thought she had just lost it, not that she'd say that in English. Tommy wouldn't go as far to call his mother crazy but he certainly wasn't going to get his hopes up again like he had for Hogwarts, he thought it was better to not have hope then to have hope crushed. Their birthday came and went, making it thirteen years they'd been prisoners and thirteen years they'd been alive. Tommy only felt worse, how many more birthdays would they have? How many more days in a cell just... existing? Was it even life compared to the things their mother told them about? Living as prisoners with the Shadows leeching off his pain, the cold never fading and the light never shining. What life was that? He just wanted to be free._

_"HE'S BACK! HE'S BACK! THE DARK LORD HAS RETURNED! THE DARK LORD HAS RETURNED!"_

_Their mother's screech woke him from a dream he'd been having about killing Dementors with Shadows, the noise was tumultuous. Not just their mother but other prisoners were also screaming about his return, their mother was standing at the bars still shouting the same thing and laughing maniacally with delight. She brandished her other arm - the one with the Dark Mark - through the bars, Tommy's eyes bulged in shock as he noticed it was very definitely a jet black now and it almost seemed to be writhing on her flesh. He glanced around for Sal who was sleeping on the ground as it was her turn, seeing she was also bolt upright and equally stunned. He exchanged a worried look with her and they got up to peer through the bars, seeing other waxy, withered arms also sticking out of the cells further down. All with the Mark, all hollering the same kind of things. That their father, Lord Voldemort, had returned._

* * *

_Dear Mr Calderon_

_I am writing to inform you that something of the utmost importance has come up in regards to my grandson, something I feel only you could help with and that must be discussed in person._

_I implore you to meet me at Malfoy Manor - Hogwarts should have the address if you need it - on Thursday December 28th at around five o'clock, if this time is not convenient for you or this letter arrives too late then please write back with a more acceptable time and place as soon as possible. I do hope this is not the case as it is the holidays and this matter is extremely urgent._

_Hope to see you soon so we can attend to this important matter._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Narcissa Malfoy_

Calderon re-read the letter for what had to be the thousandth time since he'd received it that morning from a fast but rather tired owl, he got the impression she's wanted it to arrive as soon as possible. In fact, it was the day he was supposed to meet her that it had arrived. He was extremely concerned about it, worried both for whatever issue and come up with Scorpius as well as... the rest. He hadn't been to the Malfoy Manor since he was a child and his memories of it were far from pleasant, it was where his torture had begun after all. And then there was the fact his Aunt Narcissa was the one requesting the meeting, he'd only since her once since childhood and even then he'd been petrified of her recognizing him. She hadn't seemed to though, he thought Sal might have tampered with her memory as she'd only commented on his looking familiar the same way his Aunt Andromeda had when he'd met her.

He didn't like meeting his aunts, it always left him with strange conflicting emotions of terror at being recognizing as their sister's son and the urge to scream at them that he _was_ their sister's son. He didn't know why he had the craving for some familial connection but he did, that was why he tried so hard to be good to his cousins Scorpius and Teddy. He thought it would only be worse now that he felt like that all the time, he didn't want people to know who he was but at the same time he so desperately did. He was tempted to not go, to insist she get Scorpius' parents instead and to arrange a meeting with someone of more importance like his Head of House or the Headmaster since they were the ones in positions to do things. Well, not Elwood as there really was no 'master' in 'Headmaster' anymore. Elwood was being nicer to him now, he seemed rather sad actually. Calderon supposed there was no reason to fear him taking his job - which Calderon had _never_ wanted in the first place - when Rutherford was already doing it.

He didn't however, he felt compelled to go regardless of how much the thought of the meeting terrified him. And so he found himself telling Rutherford he was leaving for the afternoon, naturally Rutherford wasn't happy especially since Marigold had also taken emergency leave as his mother was ill. He couldn't really deny him though, he had no work in that moment and it was his first break all year. So Calderon trudged through the frozen ground to leave his home of Hogwarts, his lights blaring with the increasingly frantic beating of his heart. Once he'd passed the apparation limit, he stopped and closed his eyes. Turning his thoughts to memories to picture the wrought iron gates that reminded him of cell bars and the towering hedge that reminded him of cell walls... He disapparated in a loud crack and experienced the ever uncomfortable sensation as if someone was trying to wedge him into a pipe before reappearing with an equally loud bang, except this time outside the handsome yet scary manor. And Aunt Narcissa was already waiting for him.

* * *

_"Do you think Mother's gone mad?" Sal asked of him in Parseltongue as their mother continued howling to the night that the Dark Lord had returned, as were a deafening amount of other prisoners. Tommy hadn't heard so much noise in his life._

_"Only if everyone else has too," Tommy pointed out before switching to English as he approached his hysterical mother, as did Sal, "Mother, why don't... why don't you come back to bed?"_

_"HE'S BACK!" their mother told him as she turned to him and grabbed his shoulders, her usually heavy lidded eyes were wide and looked ready to bulge out of their sockets as she gazed into him with a demented grin. She licked her lips, "Don't you understand, Tommy?! He's back! He has returned, the Dark Lord has returned! Your father is once again back in all his power and glory."_

_"If he's back then where is he?" Sal demanded although he had a feeling that she'd meant it to be more of a question but she was ever the doubter. Their mother was in no mood for it though and struck Sal violently with the back of her hand, hard enough to send her back so she hit the bars painfully._

_"DON'T YOU DARE DOUBT YOUR FATHER, SALAZIA! DON'T YOU DARE!" their mother screeched enraged as he helped Sal up, blood was oozing from the corner of her mouth while their mother jabbed a finger to the Dark Mark yet again except so forcefully she actually scratched herself but didn't seem to care, "YOU SEE THIS!? THIS MEANS HE'S BACK! THE DARK LORD IS BACK!"_

_Their mother and the rest of the prisoners remained hysterical about it, the Dementors had to sweep through the halls and scare people into calming down. Depressing the prisoners back into their sorrowful state of mind, Tommy included. Their mother curled in a ball rocking backwards and forwards, however she still had her face stretched into that manic smile as if it had been stuck that way while she muttered under breath that he was back over and over again until they stopped sounding like words to Tommy. It was certainly an odd turn of events at any rate, very out of the ordinary for old Azkaban. She didn't snap out of it by the morning, she was still convinced their father had returned even if she wasn't as hysterical about it. She clung to the fanatical belief that he was back and any day now he would come for them, Tommy didn't dare hope as she'd been wrong before. It appeared she would be wrong again too as days went by, weeks, months even without any sign of rescue. They'd been born in Azkaban and they would probably die in Azkaban, maybe there was only Azkaban after all. They'd never seen the outside world after all._

_I could show it to you, One spoke into his mind, If you let me_

_"No," Tommy hissed, not having realized that the Shadow was sharing his mind with him and not wanting to risk another death, "And don't do that."_

_Sorry, Master. I want freedom as much as you do, to see more than Azkaban. I was born here too, congealed from the darkness when my Dementor Master spawned_

_"I don't believe you," Tommy pointed out, rather truthfully as something else occurred to him, "Since when did you start saying 'I?'"_

_Just because you stopped teaching me, it didn't mean I stopped learning. Let me show you, Master_

_"I SAID NO!" Tommy screamed at him, willing it to get the hell out of him and felt a chill sweep through him and leave to go back into his shadow. He'd spoken loud enough to draw the attention of his mother and sister though, "B-Bad dream."_

_He told Sal the truth later though, he couldn't tell his mother because she wouldn't believe him as she hadn't believed him before. She also was too preoccupied with waiting for the Dark Lord's return, often telling them about the great lives they would live killing filthy muggles and torturing mudbloods, leading their father's armies and sharing a fragment of his soul. Tommy didn't think that was going to happen. Sal thought he should give One a chance, see if he could really see the outside world._

_"What's the worst that can happen?" Sal wondered of him in Parseltongue, "Azkaban supposed to be in the ocean not near any people, who is it going to kill?"_

_Tommy couldn't actually think of a good answer for her but he still felt like it would be a bad idea, he didn't trust One anymore. He would admit though, his curiosity was piqued. To see the outside world... it was probably the closest they'd get to actual freedom, the closest they'd get to real life. Sal kept encouraging him and after months of the same misery and entrapment - as well as no Dark Lord coming for them - he decided to give in on an especially cold day in the dead of winter, he called One to him and allowed it to explore. He sat nervously in his favorite corner as One shot off through the walls, he started to see an odd overlapping of his vision. It was only when he closed his eyes that he realized it fully, he was seeing... water. Massive amounts of water, rippling and rolling beneath the cloud filled sky. It was beautiful. Even if everything looked tinted as if in shadow._

_"Sal," Tommy hissed at her and heard rather than saw her coming over to him, she sat beside him and he took her hand in his own while willing her to see, "Look."_

_Her gasp told him that it had worked, that was seeing the ocean too. It was so big, stretching out further than his range of vision. He and Sal huddled together, watching mesmerized for hours and hours, too transfixed to even speak. It could have been forever for all he knew or a dream for how realistic it felt, he thought maybe it was. Either way they watched until they were sleeping, dreaming only of the world outside and not knowing how close they were to seeing it with their own eyes._

* * *

"Thank you for coming," Aunt Narcissa offered in the clear, cold voice he remembered as she practically pulled him through the gates, "Must be quick now."

Calderon allowed himself to be led across the frosted grounds, only feeling eerily more reminded of his first visit here with every step. It was the first house he'd ever been into, the place he'd been taken to after they were saved from Azkaban. Sadly, he recalled the first time he'd walked this path he'd had Sal by his side. She led him inside and through the dimly lit halls, he looked around for any sign of his cousins but he neither saw nor heard any sign that there was anyone else there but them. His heart was pounding, memories trying to filter through of his torture or being led back through the halls battered and beaten from Master Rodolphus because of his failure, or of Sal's own cries of pain as his twin experienced the torture instead of him. He tried to squeeze his eyes shut to block out the memories but that didn't help, it also almost caused him to walk into a wall. He really wanted to be home now.

Finally Aunt Narcissa seemed to lead him to the desired location, taking him into a room and coming to a halt as did the encroaching memories. He hadn't been in the room before but he was equally disturbed, he thought it might have been a study but now it was... not. Every single wall was plastered with newspaper clippings, from ceiling to floor and it wasn't exactly a small room. What bothered him even more though were the subject of the articles, he recognized many of them from reading them himself and those he hadn't were easy to deduce anyway from the giant letters. They were all about how the Shadow Master was Voldemort's son, a misconception that would be correct if they changed one word of it.

He was starting to get the impression that this meeting may not have anything to do with Scorpius at all, he swallowed nervously as his lights flickered. Now they were no longer in motion, he turned to look at his Aunt Narcissa. She was still as fair as his mother had been dark, her long hair was such a white shade of pale that he wasn't sure whether it had turned with age or not. Her face was obviously more lined since the first time he'd been here but so was his, he also now stood the taller of the two. She didn't say anything, her piercing eyes studying him with the same intensity that he'd been looking at her with.

"So um... so what... what is this about?" Calderon stammered out nervously after the silence stretched on, Aunt Narcissa swallowed and allowed another pause as if pondering what to say first before finally opening her mouth.

"It's funny really, when most people heard the Shadow Master was the son of the Dark Lord they felt fear but I didn't. It struck a different chord with me, a memory," Aunt Narcissa explained quietly and seriously, her eyes not leaving his and her expression not becoming any more readable, "Of my late sister, Bellatrix, delighted at being chosen to bear the Dark Lord a child to be his Horcrux. How likely of a coincidence do you think it is really for someone else to be the bearer of his heir?"

"I... I wouldn't know."

"I've been reading these articles trying to jog my memory free," Aunt Narcissa continued as if he hadn't spoken, gesturing to the newspapered walls while Calderon felt sure his heart was going to beat itself out of his chest, "But I wasn't getting anywhere... Not until Scorpius got a photograph as a birthday present, one of which included you. A man who possesses the perfect mixture of the good looks of the Black family and what a boy named Tom Riddle used to have before he lost his humanity, you also share that name. Don't you, Tommy?"

* * *

**Part 2: **Black and White

* * *

_A new year, a new start. Not that Tommy knew that at the time. There was no indication that anything was out of the ordinary, the Dementors came and took their mother for what he assumed was her shower which was all very standard. It turned out not to be the case though as their mother returned soon after, a smile on her face and walking with a stride that suggested she owned the place. The Dementors opened the cell for her but they didn't put her back inside._

_"Come on, we're getting out of here," the mother offered to Tommy's absolute shock, he exchanged a look with Sal, "Get a move on! We don't have all day."_

_"Yes, Mother," Tommy and Sal said in perfect unison, not even breathing as they left with her._

_He was expecting the Dementors to stop them, to put them back into their cell but they didn't. They followed their mother through the dark halls of Azkaban, he thought maybe she'd meant they were letting them shower together again. What else could she mean? They couldn't really be free, that didn't happen, that couldn't happen... It was just... just a wistful dream. They were led a different way to the way to the showers, through doors to a room without cells where there were two massive double steel doors open to reveal the world outside. Tommy literally couldn't believe it, couldn't wrap his mind around the fact they were leaving Azkaban. This was a dream, definitely a dream. He was asleep now, he had to be._

_Tommy and Sal followed their mother through the doors and stepped out of Azkaban for the very first time, he gave a sharp intake of breath as his bare feet stepped onto the dirt. It was strange to feel the gritty substance between his toes as opposed to simply standing on smooth stone, he exchanged an exhilarated look with Sal and a smile slowly crept onto her face. They continued out after their mother, feeling the spray from the sea on their faces, the touch of the wind and the taste of the salt in the air for the very first time while their eyes hungrily devoured the scenery in front of them. There wasn't much landscape before the sea and what was there was barren, just a stretch of dirt and rocky around the edges where the waves crashed against them._

_The dirt stretched around to the left and right of them though and out of sight around the prison, to the left there was some kind of black iron fencing cordoning off the area. It didn't look too different to Tommy except for the lumps of rock jutting out of the ground, maybe it was so people didn't run into the rocks. He heard a slamming sound behind and the twins both spun back around in shock, seeing the doors had now sealed shut behind them. It also gave him a glimpse of Azkaban from the outside for the first time, it was a foreboding building that was - naturally - as black as the interior, it stretched up into the thick gray clouds overhead well out of sight. Dementors swirled around it, gliding past the narrow barred windows while two more stood guard by the massive double doors but none made a move to stop them. Sal was glaring at the building with a look of utter hatred, she clenched her fist and out of nowhere there was a crack of thunder and a fork of blue lightning shot the ground before the door that caused him to jump._

_"One day I'm going to destroy this place, Tommy, when I'm strong," Sal whispered to him in Parseltongue, still staring at the building, "I'm going to wipe it off the map. Then no one can ever put us back there."_

_"We're not gone yet," Tommy pointed out and almost on cue, felt his mother tugging him and also grabbing Sal to keep going._

_"Come on, we mustn't dawdle and keep the Dark Lord waiting," their mother said and led them closer to the edge where Tommy realized there was a figure that he hadn't noticed before or had mistaken for a Dementor due to his black cloak, they were standing on one of the rocks with their long white-blond hair billowing back in the wind. He looked surprisingly clean, his features were pale, pointed and curled in a sneer while his eyes were as gray as the sky, "Kids, this is your Uncle Lucius. Say hello."_

_"Hello Uncle Lucius," Tommy and Sal chorused which only seemed to make their uncle's lips twist even more in disgust._

_"Let us just go, Bellatrix, we've wasted enough time with you going back for them and the other nine are back by now," Uncle Lucius told them and held out a tattered blanket, "I want to be away from this place."_

_"Why, is poor wickle Lucius scared of the big bad Azkaban?" their mother taunted fearlessly and pushed them closer to their uncle, "Take a hold of the Portkey now, we don't want to accidentally leave anyone behind."_

_He and Sal both grabbed it immediately, holding in with a desperate tight grasp as if their lives depended on it. In a way, he thought they did. He could feel his heart pounding again, this time from not from fear but from excitement. Were they really leaving Azkaban? Were they really going to be free? Their mother also took hold of it and in the next instant, he felt as if someone had hooked him on a line and was dragging him through space. The world hurtled around him in an impossible way and Tommy feared he would be sick before they came to a halt, the adults managed to stay standing - for reasons beyond him - he and Sal fell to the ground. Or rather fell through the ground, there was an odd layer of soft but cold white stuff... He searched his mind for a name, snow? Was it snow? They got up and saw they were no longer in Azkaban but rather some place where there was a white blanket stretching out in every direction, not a prison or a Dementor in sight._

* * *

Calderon - or should he think of himself as Tommy again? - just stared at her, his mind too stunned to process what she'd said. His lights vanished and he just gazed into her eyes, waiting on his answer. He realized his mouth was hanging open a little and he closed it, swallowing nervously. He was afraid and relieved at the same time about his true identity being discovered but mostly he felt an odd calm, he didn't have to worry about the cat being out of the bag anymore. Of course he could deny it, call her crazy - which he thought was rather hypocritical considering he was crazy himself - and pretend to have no clue what she was talking about. Maybe she wasn't certain, she had said her memory had been messed with. In fact, he could probably erase it again and walk away with her being none the wiser. But he didn't. He'd long ago decided that he wasn't going to deny the truth if confronted with it, he thought there was a difference between pretending to be Marius Calderon and outright lying about not being Voldemort's son. Besides, he didn't even want to pretend anymore.

"Yes," Tommy - or was he still Calderon? - confirmed and Aunt Narcissa gave a sharp intake of breath, turning away from him and putting a hand over her mouth.

"Mother of Merlin," Aunt Narcissa breathed and took a few steps before looking back to him, still looking stunned despite the fact she'd guessed it. Now she was the one with her mouth hanging open and closed it as she seemed to realize, "And then you're... you're also the Shadow Master?"

"No!" Tommy told her rather forcefully, offended at the thought, "I am not."

"Then who is? An imposter? A twin?" Aunt Narcissa babbled worriedly and he reached out a hand to her head, a glow came from it as he channeled magic into undoing what had been done to her memory which she closed her eyes for. She was looking more certain when her eyes flicked back open and he moved his hand away, "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Aunt Narcissa."

"I told you not to call me that."

"I know," Tommy confirmed with a shrug, feeling oddly at ease now that he didn't have to pretend anymore.

"So Sal is the Shadow Master," Aunt Narcissa said thoughtfully and Tommy nodded in confirmation, "The headlines are all wrong."

"From what I gather claiming to be the child of Voldemort became construed as 'son' and everyone's jumped at it."

"Who else knows who she is? Apart from me."

"And me. Brutus and Rabastan for definite, probably some other high ranked Soul Eaters."

"Who else knows who you are?"

"Scor and Pip- Varanian know I'm Bellatrix's son, they've probably told a few people. They assumed Rodolphus is my father though as far as I know, I think they know who I know the Shadow Master though. Just not that she's my twin sister."

"And that's it?"

"That's it."

"You seem to be taking this rather well," Aunt Narcissa pointed out.

"I know, it's weird," Tommy admitted truthfully with another shrug, "I'm surprised at myself."

"What are you going to do?" Aunt Narcissa asked him after a minute, surprising and confusing him at the same time as he frowned.

"What am I going to do about what?"

"About your sister."

* * *

_Were they really free? They were really not in Azkaban anymore at any rate, not locked in a cell, there was just... just space around them. Tommy was smiling before he realized it, he hadn't even realized before how much the Dementors had had an effect on him but now that they were gone he felt like something had been lifted from him. He still had the Shadows but he felt happier still, Sal too was grinning from ear to ear._

_"Freedom!" Sal cried in delight and jumped, punching the air before bolting much to Uncle Lucius' apparent dismay._

_"Wait for me!" Tommy protested and raced after her, ignoring their mother's call for them to stop._

_He didn't know where they were going, he didn't even think Sal knew and in fact they seemed to be going in random circles but a giddy rush of excitement flooded him and he found he just didn't care. He just wanted to run because he could, he just wanted to go in any direction because he could, he just wanted to wave his arms around crazily because he could. There was space, nothing but open space with no walls to stop them. He tripped just as he caught up to Sal, falling into her and sending them both tumbling to the ground. Not that it bothered them, there was nothing to run into and they rolled. It was fun to roll, leaving a trail behind them in the snow. He and Sal were still smiling as they helped each other up when they finally came to a halt, only to freeze fearfully when they heard a bang. Their heads both swiveled to see Uncle Lucius standing with a thin stick in his hand pointed at the sky, a shower of sparks raining down. Was that a wand?_

_"Better behavior is expected of the Dark Lord's children! Honestly!" Uncle Lucius snapped at them, making Tommy feel abashed, "Get back here! We still need to apparate back to Malfoy Manor."_

_"I don't think I like Uncle Lucius very much," Sal complained to him in Parseltongue, scowling as they trudged back over to the adults._

_"I don't think Uncle Lucius likes us very much," Tommy added also in Parseltongue as they reached them, Uncle Lucius turned to their mother._

_"Do you think you can apparate or do you need me to-"_

_Tommy never heard the conclusion of Uncle Lucius' sentence as in response, their mother grabbed his arm and there was another loud cracking sound like a thunderclap. Unlike the disorientating Portkey travel, this made him feel like his body was being compressed as if to fit through an uncomfortably small pipe. As soon as it stopped, Tommy fell to his knees on the frosted ground and lost the content of his stomach. He heard someone else retching and saw Sal do the same beside him, yet again the adults seemed unaffected._

_"I don't like apparation," Sal muttered to him weakly before they were both hauled to their feet by the adults._

_"You'll get used it," Uncle Lucius complained, already ushering them forward._

_"Maybe I don't want to get used to it, there has to be a better way of travelling."_

_"SAL! DON'T YOU DARE START RIGHT NOW!" their mother screeched and Sal fell silent unhappily._

_Tommy turned his attention back to where they were going and saw they were going through a pair of wrought iron gates, he swallowed nervously and shifted his quickly freezing feet as they approached what was beyond them. Some building, much smaller than Azkaban but much nicer looking. Everything was much nicer looking then Azkaban actually. He was surprised to notice creatures, little white two legged feathery things that strutted about. He watched them with interest, was that an animal? Were those birds? He'd never seen any birds around Azkaban, their mother said living things didn't like Dementors any more than humans did. They were led inside a door that opened as they approached where it was surprisingly warm, it looked much nicer inside then Azkaban did too although the corridor was also dimly lit._

_"What's taken you so long?! The others are already-" a woman demanded as she strode over but stopped mid-sentence when she saw them, she looked healthy and had long blond hair like Uncle Lucius but bore more physical resemblance to their mother. She was dressed rather finely too although she was looking rather shocked, "You... You were pregnant?"_

_"Oh Cissy, little Cissy, it is nice to see you again," their mother offered with a demented smirk as she approached the woman, putting an arm around her despite the fact the woman was clearly only looking at him and Sal, "Kids, this is your Aunt Narcissa. Say hello."_

_"Hello," Tommy and Sal greeted her in unison and Aunt Narcissa's eyes widened even further._

_"Try and find them some clothes before they meet their father, would you Lucius?"_

_"I was just about to suggest that," Uncle Lucius insisted through gritted teeth, "They need to remain hidden anyway. Your sister can give you the clothes prepared for you and take you to the Dark Lord, he'll no doubt have things to discuss with you. Come now, children."_

_"Why do we need to remain hidden?" Sal wondered as their uncle led them away while the women were left to talk, Tommy felt a stab of fear at being left alone with a strange man._

_"Hasn't your Mother told you to not question your elders?"_

_"Several times, she never listens," Tommy pointed out quite truthfully as their uncle continued guiding them through the beautiful hallways, he forgot his far in amazement at all the things there was to see. Windows, pictures on walls, pedestals with... things on them, cloth pictures on walls. He had a feeling these things had names but they just didn't come to mind._

_"Alright, wait here," Uncle Lucius told them finally and pushed them into an empty room, closing the door behind him._

_"I don't think so," Sal scoffed immediately and went over to tug on the door, he went to cry out a warning as he didn't want to risk being in trouble with a man who could probably put them back in Azkaban as easily as he had taken them out but it was unnecessary as the door was apparently locked, "Damn. We're free and we're still prisoners."_

_"I think it's just so that we don't wonder off and get lost, I think there are more important things going on," Tommy said, too swept up in the excitement of being out of Azkaban to worry about it._

_"Aren't we supposed to be important?" Sal wondered as she went over to try the window but it was also locked, instead she slunk to the ground and he sat beside her as she sighed with a scowl, "I guess we wait then."_

* * *

"What do you mean what am I going to do about my sister?" Tommy wondered in confusion and Aunt Narcissa gave him an incredulous look.

"Have you not noticed how she's destroying the world right now?!" Aunt Narcissa pointed out, throwing out her arms as if to gesture to the newspaper clippings covering the walls.

"Oh yeah, that," Tommy mumbled unhappily, sadly recalling why the papers were all over it in the first place, "I'm not the one doing it, she's the Shadow Master."

"Are you on her side?"

"No!"

"Exactly. Tommy, you have to do something."

"Do something?"

"Come on, you're not stupid as well as insane!" Aunt Narcissa snapped at him in exasperation, "You and her can do things with magic that no one else can, you're so powerful- you couldn't even walk through the house without doing magic! You're the only one who can stand against her, you're the only one who has any chance of ending this war before anyone else in my family gets killed!"

"No, I'm going to go into direct confrontation with my sister," Tommy insisted weakly, making her look even more incredulous.

"You have the power to do something! You're stronger than her!_ You_ can stop her!"

"Look, do I hate what she's doing? Yes. Do I wish she would stop? Yes. But she's my sister! My _twin_ sister! I'm not going to hurt her, she's a good person... somewhere," Tommy protested defensively and sadly, recalling the past when they were close and feeling his heart twist painfully as blue lights flickered around him. _Why Sal?_ his mind asked uselessly, _Why do you have to do this? Why did it have to end up this way?_

"You've stopped her plans or helped stop them at least."

"Stopping her plans is different to stopping her."

"What do you really think is going to happen?" Aunt Narcissa asked of him, seemingly trying to make her voice calmer, "Do you think one day she's just going to wake up and think what she's doing is a mistake? That she's going to snap her fingers and everything will be alright again?"

"Well, _maybe_," Tommy mumbled miserably, knowing she probably was right but Sal... Sal had good in her, he knew it.

"No! No maybe, no!" Aunt Narcissa snapped determinedly once more, "She's taken over a country, she'd taken _thousands_ of lives and destroyed _millions_ more. She knows what she's doing, Tommy, she knows _exactly_ what she's doing. Just like your Father-"

"She's not just like our Father, she has a heart!" Tommy interrupted defensively.

"That doesn't mean she's not capable of doing bad things because she can and is! She's not going to stop until she succeeds or is stopped!"

"You don't know that."

"Yes I do! And so do you deep down or else you wouldn't have helped stop her before!" Aunt Narcissa insisted and he turned away, "Which would you prefer, Tommy?! A ruined world she presides over or an intact world without her?!"

"You're seriously asking me to kill my twin sister?! She's all I have!"

"She's all you _had_, you don't have her anymore and she's attacked you so should be able to tell where she stands on this. You need to stop her or..."

"Or what? You'll go to the Ministry and tell them who we are?" Tommy inquired of her quietly as he looked back to her, her eyes widened slightly before becoming thoughtful as she searched his face and swallowed.

"You know, it's funny. Back when you were a child, every time I saw you I could only see the Dark Lord's spawn but now every time I look at you, I only see my dead sister's child," Aunt Narcissa told him before turning away, "No, Tommy, I'm not going to tell the Ministry on you. That would pretty much..."

"Destroy my life?"

"Yes, I won't do that to you," Aunt Narcissa confirmed and he felt a pang of relief for it that he hadn't realized he'd been concerned about, "But that doesn't mean I'm wrong. If you're really a good person like my grandson thinks you are, you need to stop your sister before there's not a world left to save."

* * *

**Part 3: **Problems With Potters

* * *

Harry Potter appeared with a crack, followed almost immediately after by an even louder bang as his brother-in-law appeared beside him. He spared his friend a concerned glance, he'd much rather Cel be with him right now and Ron be home resting. He was worried for Ron's health ever since his injury a few years ago, it took its toll on him still and he was barely scraping through physicals. He knew he probably shouldn't lean on his protégée so much but there were so few people he trusted right now and Cel was very capable without him constantly fearing he was putting the life of someone he cared about at risk. He'd had to give him some time off though, the Weasleys weren't so keen to babysit Vale in the wake of Percy's death and Ron was more antsy to be out doing things for the same reason. Maybe it would be good for Vale to spend some more time with his Dad and for Ron to be out a bit more to feel more useful, they were looking for a favor not a fight tonight anyway.

Harry looked around, snow was gently falling around them. It was a little country road, a winding dirt one that was now frosted over with white. There were trees either side and bushes, all of which had been stripped bare of their leaves which left them as angry twisted shapes jutting about jaggedly. They lit up their wands and walked on a few feet with Ron, coming to a right turn off which they took. That didn't have trees either side, rather a graveyard of signs telling people to keep off or stay away or even one reading 'LEAVE US ALONE!' in big bold letters. He hadn't expected the home of a former Death Eater to be welcoming anyway. They headed up the pathway and could clearly see their destination even from their current distance, the road meandered upwards on a hill upon which sat the dimly lit house they were after.

It was an old farmhouse and a rather unappealing one at that, the wood looked rotten and the roof so badly patched it made him think of a quilt. Half the windows were boarded up and the other half were cracked, there looked to be some kind of stable around the back. He approached the wooden door and went to knock but paused when he noticed someone had graffitied it - more than once he'd guess - despite apparent attempts to remove it, words like 'killers' and 'Death Eater scum' were still just about visible by the light of their wands. Ron picked up his slack, hammering his fist onto the door instead. The sound of footsteps echoed from inside and an instant later the door opened, not the former Death Eater he'd been expecting but rather a teenage girl. She was dressed rather plainly in jeans and flannel, both of which were stained with dirt. She might have been pretty if her expression wasn't so harsh, wavy hair red enough for a Weasley framed her face. The guy did live with his niece though, he tried to recall her name.

"Piss off," the girl spat and immediately went to close the door on them, Ron grabbed it though.

"Oi! Is that any way to speak to Hero Aurors?!" Ron chastised her immediately as she was forced to open it again, he moved his foot back.

"You're right. _Fuck off,_" the girl said instead and went to slam the door had Harry not put his foot in the way, it collided painfully and the girl irritably opened it yet again while her name came to him.

"It's Lenore, isn't it?" Harry guessed and the girl's eyes narrowed as if annoyed her knew her name.

"Might be."

"I just want to talk to your uncle, is he here?"

"Here is a very subjective term, isn't it?" Lenore pointed out unhelpfully, "Is he here in this doorway? Obviously not."

"Is he here in this... Do you call this a house?" Ron countered acidly in frustration.

"Maybe it would look nicer if vandals didn't keep attacking the place. Don't suppose you're here about that?"

"You didn't answer the question."

"You didn't answer mine either," Lenore stated icily although truthfully, "And I don't know if he's here, I can't see him from my current vantage point."

"Can we come in?" Harry asked instead, seeing that was getting nowhere.

"Do you have a warrant?"

"No."

"Then no," Lenore scoffed and moved as if to close the door again but saw Harry hadn't moved his foot, "Read the signs and go away, we haven't done anything."

"I never said you had, I just want to speak to him," Harry insisted, "He's not in any trouble."

"What is taking you so-" a new voice asked and the door swung open further, the sentence finishing when crisp cerulean eyes spotted the two Aurors. He had a course, lined face and was dressed the same as her except his were men's and the flannel a different pattern and color, his clothes too were stained with dirt. He was slightly younger then Harry and Ron, unlike them he hadn't any thinning nor a touch of gray in his brown hair. John Avery, the man they were there to see, "Len, what have I told you to say to guests?"

"Piss off," Lenore repeated her earlier sentiment and John gave a wry smile.

"That's my girl. You two heard her."

"I'd like to discuss something with you, can we come in?" Harry asked for what felt like the hundredth time now.

"Do you have a warrant?"

"No."

"Then no," Lenore reiterated but John held up his hands.

"Not so fast," John chided her and moved aside as he opened the door fully, allowing them entry, "We have to be hospitable, wouldn't want them to start blowing up doors or walls to arrest us for existing. We only just got the roof fixed. I apologize it's not much to look at, that happens when the Ministry strips away the family wealth for 'reparations' and vandals keep wrecking things."

John wasn't kidding, it wasn't much to look at. The same wood as the exterior seemed to carry through for the interior, the floor, walls and even the ceiling was clearly floorboards from upstairs. The door opened into the living room, there were some couches also with the same wooden frame but thankfully some upholstery and cushions. They were arranged around the fire place that looked as if it was sagging, a smoldering fire resided within, there was a table, tattered curtains on the two windows and that was pretty much it except the two other doors leading off. All the wood was the same gritty dark that looked unfinished and rotted or rotting at least, the floor boards creaked underfoot as they entered and Harry noticed it was barely warmer inside then outside.

"You should tell someone about the vandals," Harry commented a John closed the door behind him, Lenore went and stood by the window in front of them with her arms folded.

"Already did," John sneered as he went to stand near Lenore, also folding his arms, "You people never do anything, say crimes against people like us isn't worth your time."

"Well we have more pressing concerns then vandals right now," Ron protested defensively, looking between the seats and the people standing as if hoping he'd get asked to sit. That didn't seem likely, they seemed content to stand. They shouldn't be long anyway.

"I'll have someone look into it," Harry said instead, former Death Eater or not he never meant to encourage a bias in regards to enforcing laws.

"Sure you will," John scoffed dubiously, "Just like you'll be punishing those kids who nearly killed my niece."

"I-I assure you that those kids _were_ punished," Ron insisted as his face went red, his daughter and Corin had been the ones to do it after all. It wasn't fun to be reminded of things your children had done wrong, he was glad James finally seemed to be maturing and over his bullying streak. He hadn't got in trouble all year and was actually doing better academically, although he supposed with NEWTs only choosing subjects you wanted and were already passing might help with that.

"Yeah, because a detention and a slap on the wrist makes up for almost taking a life," John spoke with bitter sarcasm, "It's manslaughter, you can arrest people for that."

"It was an accident! Kids make mistakes."

"And? I still had to pay ten years for mine," John pointed out quite truthfully, he'd only turned seventeen after the Second Wizarding War had ended and had turned himself in. All things that earned him the leniency of a decade opposed to life in Azkaban, also things that made Harry consider he may be more co-operative then others they knew or suspected to be involved in the Black Market.

"Look that isn't why we we're here," Harry offered, very much wanting to just get to the point and get out. Ron looked relieved the subject was off Rose.

"Then why are you here?" John asked tiredly, the two Aurors immediately glanced at the only teenager in the room in hesitation to speak of things in front of her, "She's of age. Anything you can say in front of me, you can say in front of her."

"Alright," Harry muttered hesitantly, James had just turned of age and he wouldn't want him anywhere near a conversation like this, "Alexis Loren broke into Hogwarts earlier this night-"

"Is Maurice okay?" Lenore questioned immediately, her voice betraying her concern which seemed to embarrass her as she quickly added, "And the other students."

"They're fine, she didn't get very far. The Ministry attaché and Head Healer are the only ones injured, both are expected to recover."

"Is Loren okay?" Lenore inquired instead, relaxing somewhat while Harry felt slightly puzzled and she shrugged, "You don't want to be on the wrong side of Maurice, if they meet then one of them is going to wind up hurt or dead."

"She got away," Harry admitted but thought she had a point, he hadn't forgotten Maurice's actions. He knew the boy's willingness and ability to use Dark Magic, including the most unforgivable of curses and the Aurors he'd inadvertently killed, not to mention talent as a duelist. He could only hope Maurice could move past the soldier mentality or Harry really would have to arrest him, underage or not he was dangerous, "She was using Polyjuice Potion to turn into a member of staff to get in, which is what I wanted to speak to you about."

"I'm not helping her," John snapped immediately defensive, looking actually offended, "Or any of them. I'm no Shadow and I have no desire to get mixed up in this war, I don't give a damn who wins because I'm on my own side. Mine and the people I care about. You're wasting your time, I'm not a Soul Eater."

"I don't think you are," Harry pointed out truthfully and the former Death Eater seemed to relax very slightly although he was still scowling, "But what I do think is that you have ties to the Black Market, I want to know if she bought it there."

"Black Market? Never heard of it," John lied readily.

"Look, we don't know exactly what the Soul Eaters wanted but she was caught so quickly that she very likely didn't get whatever she wanted so she or they might try again, we might be able to set up a sting operation and catch her," Harry told him seriously, catching the man's eyes, "You may not care about the war but you should care about this. Next time she tries to break in, the castle might not be so empty. This is a woman who sacrificed her own children to the Soul Eaters, she's not going to hesitate to hurt or kill anyone who gets in her way. Student or staff, or Head Girl."

"I-" John immediately glanced at his niece as he said this, his harsh expression softening maybe slightly before he looked back to him and seemed to ponder his next words very carefully. He sighed, "Okay, I might have heard of the Black Market."

"Not going to arrest him for that, are you?" Lenore asked, her hostile tone mingling with genuine concern yet again.

"This conversation isn't happening so anything said isn't going to go down against you," Ron spoke up for the first time in a while, leaning against a wall for support.

"She didn't buy it off the Black Market," John admitted immediately with confidence, uncle and niece apparently feeling more at ease at hearing that.

"Are you sure?" Harry wondered, feeling his hope at a lead falling and John nodded in confirmation.

"Very, Loren's wanted posters are all around. She couldn't have bought it without someone recognizing her, people would be talking about it but they aren't."

"Was there anyone out of the ordinary getting some then? Maybe she got someone else to buy it for her."

"Not unless she bought it way in advance," John pointed out thoughtfully, "Polyjuice is hard to make, there's very few who can make it and even less who can make it good quality. Right now they're out, been out since November and the last people to buy some were regulars."

"Alright," Harry conceded his defeat, "Thank you for your help. Contact me if you hear anything."

"Your Aurors would just-"

"I said contact _me_," Harry cut him off, "Directly. Or Ron here or Cel Rooke. No one else."

"Why? Trouble in Ministry paradise?" Lenore wondered with a smirk, Harry really didn't want to admit he was sure there was a leak.

"You can never be too careful," Harry said finally and cautiously, "We'll be going now if there's nothing else."

"There's nothing else, nice to not have this conversation with you," John offered as he strode over to open the door for them to head back out into the cold night.

"Good riddance," Lenore called cheerfully after them.

"I can see why Rosie wanted to poison that girl," Ron grumbled.

* * *

James Sirius Potter was having the time of his life, it was the best holiday of his life. He _loved_ the Bahamas. The house was fantastic and spacious, his room was easily twice the size - if not more - of his room back in Grimmauld Place. He got to sleep in as late as he wanted without being nagged to do chores - servants took care of that - and stay up as late as he wanted without being nagged to go to bed, it also didn't feel cramped like home did. And that was just the house. The Bahamas were beautiful, it was a tropical paradise untouched by the cold winter weather and he could easily see why Heather Longbottom didn't like leaving it to go back to dreary old England. The sun was always shining, smiling down on the glistening sea and the soft sand. James loved it. And they were right on the beach, the got the best spots to just lie there soaking in the sun. There was also the sea if they fancied a swim or beach volleyball if they were feeling energetic, or if they wanted to watch. Xerxes also took them sightseeing once or twice, sailing around the beautiful coast or exploring the island a bit. At night he often took them out for a delicious meal or a show, in particular James loved the fire dancing.

He also had wonderful company, it was so relaxing to just hang out with Carver laughing and having fun without the annoyance of homework or classes. He even managed to forget his own issues and insecurities about his father not loving him and his sexuality, not even news of Uncle Percy's death could drag him down. Uncle Percy was his least favorite uncle anyway, he was such a pompous nag. He'd have to leave his beloved Bahamas slightly earlier than planned to go to the funeral but otherwise he wasn't bothered, he missed Uncle Charlie and Aunt Fleur but Uncle Percy and Aunt Audrey? No. Definitely not. James was having fun and that wasn't going to ruin it, he loved spending time with Carver and the great weather had another advantage. It was so hot and they were mostly on the beach so he and Carver frequently went around shirtless, giving him a perfect view of Carver's perfect, firm muscles. James longed to run his hands over them and to feel Carver's strong arms around him, he spent many days lost in those fantasies. A part of him wanted to say something to Carver about how he felt, hoping it was possible Carver returned those feelings but he was too afraid of rejection - Carver was very picky in who he liked - and losing his best friend over it, he was also too ashamed. It was one thing to like guys, it was another to be open about it and have a boyfriend. He wished his feelings would just go away.

And then there was Xerxes. Carver's father was awesome, he seemed to have mastered the perfect blend of spending time with his son and giving him some space. Xerxes was also very generous, always willing to buy anything for Carver and even James was treated to anything he asked for as he was a hospitable host. Xerxes was also fun to be around and it was obvious where Caver got his good looks from although Xerxes did remind him oddly of someone else he couldn't place, still James had taken an immediately liking to him. He was friendly and funny, he had such great stories to tell about growing up in Greece. Yet he was also a good listener, showing genuine interest in things James was telling him and he was so understanding, like being amused by a prank he'd played on Slytherins instead of chastising him like his parents would have. Xerxes treated with respect too, speaking to him like an equal. Which he was as James was of age and Xerxes took that into account. James had his first alcoholic drink with him, a coconut of tequila as they watched the limbo contest. James really felt like Xerxes understood him, not like his parents at all. The only thing that really bothered him was Xerxes flirting with women a lot but James supposed everyone had flaws, besides he might just be jealous that Xerxes liked women which wasn't something James could ever claim.

"You know, I just had an awesome dream," James offered to Carver as he joined him for the quiet dinner they were having that day after he'd taken a nap in the sunshine, there was always food waiting for them to eat as they desired anyway much like the Hogwarts meals except curtesy of the servants here. He wished he had servants.

"'Bout what?" Carver mumbled through a full mouthful of food, his plate already piled high. James started putting food onto his own plate as he talked.

"Well, do you remember how Leebin was a counsellor and he lied and said he'd help me but then he ditched me?"

"Jay, he was fired. They fired the counsellors, remember?"

"So he ditched me," James insisted, refusing to believe it was anyone's fault other than Leebin's. So what if he was fired? He should have still stayed, Carver didn't look convinced but James proceeded with his story anyway, "In my dream I saw him again and I was furious, he tried making feeble excuses and I started beating the crap out of him. And he started crying and telling me he ditched me because I was already perfect and he didn't think he was good enough to help me, he said he'd make it up to me. He started unbuttoning his shirt and he had abs just like Cel then we started making out while he praised how great a Seeker I am and how great in general."

"How was he speaking if you were making out?" Carver asked as Xerxes joined them, the older man only catching the tail end of James' story.

"I don't know, it was a dream," James shrugged as Xerxes started adding food to his own plate, "Do you ever dreams like that?"

"Erm... Not... not exactly like that, no."

"Why praising you for Seeker? I thought you were a Beater?" Xerxes wondered in slight puzzlement while James took a bite of the sea bass.

"I am a Beater on the Gryffindor team but a Seeker is my true calling, you know? Like my Dad," James explained once he'd swallowed, "I should be Seeker though, when I graduate Hogwarts I'm going to play Quidditch professionally as a Seeker. I was put as the Reserve Seeker in my First Year, did you know?"

"The Captain only did that because you are Harry Potter's son," Carver pointed out and James scowled at him, he refused to believe that too. Carver was simply mistaken, he hadn't known anything about Quidditch when James had first met him.

"No, it was because I was good. That dirty rotten cheater stole it from me, he's dating the Captain so obviously she gives him the position he wants."

"That must be frustrating for you," Xerxes offered sympathetically as he poured himself some wine, he hovered the bottle over James' glass after and gave him a look in askance whether he wanted some. James nodded and was poured some as well, "To have so much talent yet have your shot ruined by someone undeserving."

"Exactly!" James exclaimed, so relieved that Xerxes understood while Carver rolled his eyes for some reason, "No one understands that, they're all on Malfoy's side and are fooled by his pretty boy looks and his family's money but I know the truth, he's rotten to the core."

"Can I have some wine, please?" Carver asked, somewhere between pleadingly and tiredly while James took some delightful gulps of the sweet liquid.

"No, Carver. You're underage," Xerxes chided him, stopping cutting his food and instead moving the bottle further from Carver as if afraid he may try to grab it anyway.

"My birthday is only a few months away!"

"So you can wait a few months, I'll be seeing you over the summer or Easter anyway because you have to meet your little brother or sister since its due around Easter," Xerxes informed him before turning back to James and resuming cutting his sirloin steak, Carver merely rolled his eyes. He did that a lot actually of late, "Anyway, I'm sorry to hear that you feel that no one understands you. Unfortunately, people never seem to get what they deserve."

"They only get what they deserve if you give it to them," James pointed out as he jabbed his food, thinking of the Slytherins who would be living their perfect lives if he didn't punish them, "I'm the good guy here yet I always get punished, just for doing the right thing and getting those scum who deserve to suffer."

"That seems rather unfair, if they deserve it then you're doing a good thing. It's not much different to what your father does, is it?"

"Exactly!" James exclaimed yet again and Carver slapped a hand to his face, Xerxes just seemed to really get him. Unlike his father, "But my Dad doesn't understand, he says Slytherins are people too and gets mad at me for doing things to them who deserve it like the Death Eater spawn Malfoy and his freaky friends."

"I pity you," Xerxes offered sympathetically, taking another a sip of his own drink while James did the same and Xerxes' tone took on a somewhat darker edge, "My Father never understood me either, he never even tried. He was too blinded by anger at my Mother leaving him, always favoring my younger half-siblings with his new wife."

"I know what that's like," James added bitterly as he downed his glass, pushing it to Xerxes to be refilled, "My Dad loves my brother and sister more than me. And Vern. He loves the child of the cousin who tortured him more than me. Hell, I think he likes Malfoy and Dragon-breath more than me."

"Imagine that, a father paying more attention to his son's friend then his son," Carver pointed out in an oddly acidic tone as Xerxes refilled James' drink, he was probably still bummed at not getting to have any wine but Xerxes was just looking out for him. At least Carver understood, despite having a father as awesome as Xerxes.

"And you know, there's this Invisibility Cloak that's been in my family for generations," James told Xerxes - Carver already knew - as he pulled his refilled glass to him, glancing to make sure that Xerxes' violently violet eyes were on him, "It gets passed along from father to son and my Dad... my Dad gave it to _Albus_. He gave it to my little brother instead of me."

"He didn't," Xerxes wondered in disbelief and James nodded sadly, sipping his wine at the painful memory of his receiving the cloak - along with his father's love - over him.

"I just want him to love me, be proud of me, you know? What did I do wrong? I didn't ask to be gay or to not look exactly like Dad like Al does, my Dad's my hero... But he doesn't. All of my family are ashamed of me, they hate me," James continued and looked back to Xerxes who was nodding in understanding, his expression sympathetic was he too could genuinely relate, "Did you ever get your father's love?"

"No," Xerxes shook his head and James felt a less hopeful but Xerxes' next words were both strong and bitter, "I realized I didn't need his love or his approval, I was great the way I was and if he couldn't appreciate that then that was _his_ problem not mine. He didn't deserve a son like me, it was his responsibility to care for me not the other way around, I hadn't chosen to be born after all."

"I bet he regrets it now," James pointed out with a grin, "Since you have this awesome house in the Bahamas with servants, you sure showed him."

"Yes," Xerxes confirmed, the corners of his mouth curling into a triumphant smirk of his own, "Look at me now, I have everything while his very country was destroyed by the Soul Eaters. He appreciated me then, _begged_ for my approval but it was too late. He came down with a case of sudden death soon after."

"Oh, I'm sorry," James offered at Xerxes' dead father while Carver's expression became very set as he stared at his father but they gave it no mind. James thought he was probably still annoyed at not getting wine, "At least you got some closure though."

"Very true," Xerxes nodded before downing his own glass of wine and going to pour himself another, they'd finished their dinner by now and were really just sitting, talking as they drank, "But you can do that too, James, people like you and I have to stick together. I made something of myself and proved my Father wrong, you could do the same. In fact, the organization I work for could really use a smart, talented individual like yourself should you ever decide to settle instead of Seeking."

"Really?" James wondered in surprise that some fancy company could think him worthwhile - even if he still planned on being a Seeker - and Xerxes nodded. Then again, he supposed he _was_ Harry Potter's son, "Well I really am honored even though I'm still going to play professionally, that should show my Dad I deserve to be a Potter."

"Well then I wish you the best of luck," Xerxes pointed out, raising his glass and James smiled as they clinked them together before drinking. He felt a sliver of pity for Carver who was rather left out without any wine but he supposed it was for the best, Carver wasn't of age yet like he and Xerxes. They'd have plenty of time to drink together though when Carver did come of age, you had to be of age to drink responsibly like he and Xerxes did, "I'm sorry about your uncle's death by the way, a pity this holiday will be cut short."

"I know," James said with a sigh, "Uncle Percy picked a lousy time to die. Then its back to classes and homework, least we can go back to giving that Slytherin what he deserves."

"Can't you pick a different Slytherin to punish?" Carver asked him, not for the first time.

"Now, Carver, I'm sure the Slytherin deserves it since they're not people and all," Xerxes offered in his defense, James thought Xerxes really was the most understanding father ever. He thought it must be great to have a father who'd back you up instead of being mad at you for no reason.

"Slytherins are people!"

"No they're not," James scoffed darkly and Carver pinched the bridge of his nose, "That brat is evil."

"You know, I'm tired. I'm just going to go to bed," Carver decided as he stood, James frowned as he'd rather Carver stay, "Have fun being of age."

"Goodnight."

"Your time will come!" Xerxes called after his son assumingly as Carver left.

James started telling him of the atrocities the Slytherin had done to him, humiliating him by helping him, daring to stand up for other scum, trying to manipulate events to get Carver expelled. James told him and Xerxes listened, often offering encouragement or outrage at the awful things the Slytherin had done. Xerxes was so on board that he started telling him about the things he'd done to get back at him, the funny pranks - some even caused Xerxes to laugh - and the vengeful beatings.

"That is one thing I'm looking forward to going back to," James admitted as he finished his... whatever number glass of wine that was, "Someone needs to put him back in his place."

"There's more to it than that though, isn't there?" Xerxes asked him curiously.

"What do you mean?" James wondered in surprise as Xerxes also finished his glass before leaning in to speak to him quietly, saying something James hadn't even dared admit to himself.

"You like it," Xerxes told him in a whisper and James felt a shiver creep down his spine, he couldn't take his eyes from Xerxes' though and he couldn't lie staring in the man's brilliantly violet eyes, "It's not just that he deserves it, you get relieve from venting your rage and deep down you just _like_ it. You enjoy beating him, enjoy the feeling of power, enjoy seeing the pain in his eyes."

"Yes," James confirmed in the smallest of voices, feeling fear in the back of his mind, "Does that make me a bad person?"

"A bad person?" Xerxes repeated at normal volume, leaning back and giving him a smile as he shook his head, "Of course you're not a bad person, you're Harry Potter's son! It's not like you're hurting a real person and enjoying it anyway, it's just a Slytherin."

"I'm glad," James said with great relief and went to pour more wine only to realize it was gone, he supposed it signified the end of their chat and time for bed. He couldn't help but wish he could talk to his own father as easily as he could to Xerxes, "Thanks, Xerxes, it's been great talking to you."

"Likewise," Xerxes offered and returned the smile James gave him as they both stood to leave, he clapped him on the back affectionately as they parted ways to get to their separate rooms, "My door is always open should you need. Like I said, people like you and I have to stick together."

* * *

**Part 4: **Newness

* * *

Scorpius ended up spending most of the rest of the break with Molly, after a few days of Flooing to and from the Burrow every day his parents let him just stay overnight as it was less hassle. He didn't think his parents were too pleased even though let him go, it was a good thing they did because he was going to be there for Molly whether they approved or not. He didn't even see Varanian although he did 'ring' him to tell him of Percy's death in the hopes Varanian would look into it, he wanted to know who did it and why if possible.

It was strange staying at the Burrow compared to home, he had known before the Weasleys did things differently to the Malfoys but it was still more noticeable over an extended period of time. For starters there was only one bathroom, this was the same for Hogwarts but there were still multiple toilets, showers and sinks. At home there were multiple bathrooms and he essentially had one to himself, his parents used their ensuite and his grandmother used the one closer to her room so having to wait in line was rather new to him on more than a temporary basis. Home was also quieter, aside from Sol crying - and he was sleeping through the night now anyway - it was quiet and even the conversations seemed quiet but the Burrow was loud, other Weasleys were always popping in and out making hustle, bustle and conversations very common. The ghoul that lived in the attic started rattling pips if things got too quiet, he didn't understand why they didn't get rid of the damn thing.

For another thing, it wasn't so... proper. The Manor was neat, things were put in their place and the house-elves kept the place clean much like Hogwarts but here things were cluttered and chaotic, being told to put a towel 'just anywhere' left him rather stumped on more than one occasion. They also didn't seem to think it was strange going to breakfast in their pajamas or in a bathrobe with their hair in a mess, Scorpius was often the only one fully dressed. They also didn't have house-elves to make the food and had to so themselves, dedicating a portion of time daily to preparing three rather delicious meals. Scorpius had taken to helping out, feeling as if he should considering he was the only one not grieving and chatting to him about cooking seemed to take Mrs Weasley's mind of things too, at least for a little bit. He thought it was just because of Percy's death but other Weasleys often popped in with some food they'd prepared for their parents or grandparents, they would also then stay for the meal. That was another thing, they were so... close with one another, popping in to offer their support and share their grief. Even in a time of mourning, there were more laughs then at home. Scorpius felt rather left out, even when some of the visitors were his friends or at least people he was on good terms with.

It actually made him worry over his relationship with Molly, his parents already thought they'd be done by the end of the year and he thought maybe they were right. Outside of Hogwarts they came from very different families who didn't really like each other, it was strange for him being around the Weasleys and he thought it would be strange for Molly too if she spent time with his family. He tried to shove those thoughts aside though, regardless of what might happen he was there now. Both Molly and Lucy were staying with their grandparents, in fact they - or at least Lucy since Molly was of age - were to be in their custody it seemed. Molly in her father's old room, Lucy in Mrs Potter's old room and Scorpius had Bill's old room.

Molly gradually seemed to be doing better. She was crying less as the days went on and he was getting her to eat more, he even manage to get her to go on walks with him around the grounds to get her some fresh air. He kept talking at her and eventually managed to coax her into conversation more, she'd say little at first but as the days wore on she spoke more although was still quite sad understandably, he'd always listen. In contrast, the younger Lucy seemed angrier and he often saw her glaring at Molly as if it was somehow her fault. He was so desperate to ask Molly what had happened but at the same time, he thought it would be wrong to push her. He recalled all too well the breakdown he'd caused Calderon to have. There was also something else that he had to think about after he saw the headline on the _Prophet_ late December that Mr Weasley was reading, complete with a picture of Rutherford. He wasn't fond of the press after everything slandering Varanian, Maurice tended to fill them anyway as he always read it but Scorpius was too intrigued to not make an exception.

**_HOGWARTS SAFE AGAIN FROM SOUL EATERS_**

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is no stranger to danger, not in the past or in recent years with numerous targeted attacks from both Voldemort and his son, the Shadow Master. Numerous parents and concerned citizens have asked the question: why is our Ministry not doing more to protect our school? People need not feel disillusioned with the Ministry anymore however, the new Minister for Magic takes the protection of our students seriously and last night an attempted attack was stopped because of this._

_After the debacle over the summer where several students were abducted while on a standard Hogsmeade trip by the Soul Eaters for reasons still unrevealed at this time, the Ministry put in place an attaché to work on improving security at Hogwarts. Gerhard Rutherford, 32, is said attaché and has worked tirelessly to secure the safety of the students with new measures such as a clearer disciplinary rote or extra testing to ensure students are on track to achieve the most of their potential. One particular measure helped thwart an attempt by the Soul Eaters to infiltrate Hogwarts and likely cause harm to those students staying over the winter break._

_The perpetrator is believed to be Alexis Loren, 35, the mother of two is a known Soul Eater who is confirmed to have been involved in the abductions of the Hogwarts students last year and to have tortured her muggle husband into insanity by use of the Cruciatus Curse before his miraculous recovery. Loren's younger son, Maurice Rivers aged 14, is currently in Hogwarts but we suspect she was there for more than a friendly chat. Loren took on the identity of Hogwarts Head Healer, Jace Marigold, to assuage other staff members and extracted information on how to get into castle from him. Marigold, the fatherless child of a mentally insane muggle, was only very mildly tortured for this information and is expected to make a full recovery before the school year resumes. One has to question the hiring choices of Hogwarts as if Healers give away sensitive information at the drop of a hat, it is not surprising Hogwarts has so many security issues, which would not be a problem if the Ministry had more control over Hogwarts of course._

_After disguising herself as Marigold and slipping past the aging half-giant Gamekeeper, Loren infiltrated Hogwarts but didn't get very far thanks to the Ministry of Magic attaché. Mr Rutherford quickly deduced the imposter and activated an enchantment he'd put in place, one that immediately alerted the Auror Office of the break in at Hogwarts. Within minutes Aurors were swarming the castle to arrest Loren while Mr Rutherford kept her occupied in a duel, Loren was forced to flee and while she unfortunately got away, she was in the castle mere minutes and hadn't time to locate let alone harm students. Mr Rutherford sustained injuries from heroically fending off the intruder, he and Marigold were the only harmed by Loren's assault._

_Mr Rutherford is also expected to make a full recovery, intending to continue the Ministry's noble aims of keeping Hogwarts secure from the Soul Eater threat. Parents are urged to put their minds at ease, if this is how much the security has been improved in just one term then it can only go up from there. The Ministry and their employees are dedicated to protecting the public and our children from this threat, as testament to this Mr Rutherford's first words upon awakening are quoted as being: 'Did they get him? Are the students okay?' Despite the widower almost seeming surprised to have a reporter waiting for him upon awakening, which is a true sign of his and Ministry's dedication. While the Shadow War continues, it is a relief to know it seems the dark days of Hogwarts are finally behind us._

Scorpius would have crinkled up the paper if he'd had it in his hands, disliking how much it praised Rutherford. So what if his security system worked? He was still a terrible person who thought chaining up werewolves was alright along with using Legilimency on students, Scorpius also very much doubted Hogwarts was as safe as the article's writer - some Rita Skeeter woman - seemed to believe. He ringed Varanian to inform him of that too although he did probably know already since he paid attention to things happening with the Shadows, they were trying to stop them after all. Although he was glad at least it meant students still in Hogwarts - including Maurice - were alright, it brought up questions on why Alzay had been trying to do in the first place.

After the New Year though, he did end up having to return to the Malfoy Manor for Sol's birthday party at his parents' insistence. Scorpius wanted to go anyway, both to be there for his brother's first birthday party and because Leebin would be there as it was a joint party for Leebin's son and Sol as they had been born on the same day. Leebin was a counsellor and he was hoping could advise him on how to help some of his friends, in fact he could even ask him what he should be doing to help Molly with her grieving. It was only for a day and he'd be back in the Burrow by the evening anyway so he didn't feel too bad for leaving, he came back to find the parlor had been transformed.

His mother had gone all out with decorating it for the party, there were streamers and balloons, brightly colored flags lining the walls and a large banner reading 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY' hanging the width of the room. Multiple baby toys and stuffed animal toys had been brought in that were usually confined to Sol's room or play pen, winged paper animals flew around as if on an invisible mobile. There was a table, the cloth had brightly colored animals stitched into it and the table itself was filled with all kinds of hors d'oeuvres that also seemed to be attempted to fit in with what he was starting to sense was a theme of animals since Sol was fond of them. Like the camels in Egypt had captivated him, he also laughed and clapped with delight every time an owl flew in with mail. There were also drinks, primarily consisting of juice. His family were happy to see him and his mother was in a rather cheerful mood in general, he couldn't say the same for his father and grandmother.

"I don't see why we couldn't have had this party with just us," his grandmother complained, "Then we could've had it on his actual birthday."

"It wouldn't have been a party if it was just us," his mother insisted and batted away his father's hand as he tried to take one of the ladybug crostini which had his father scowl on top of the sour expression he'd had once seeing Scorpius had worn off, "Not until they arrive, Draco."

"Well what was wrong with it being just us?"

"Maybe it's nice for my son to socialize and have a friend."

"He's one! He couldn't tell that werewolf from a shoe!" his grandmother burst out in frustration while his mother frowned, "Why do you want him to be friends with a werewolf anyway?!"

"There's nothing wrong with werewolves," his mother said defensively and Scorpius was inclined to agree, "Myriam is a good person and Lysel is just a baby, the poor child."

"Yeah, werewolves are people too," Scorpius added as he bitterly thought of the article praising Rutherford after he chained Michael up like an animal. His grandmother threw her arms up in the air.

"Why is everyone in this family friends with werewolves?" his grandmother wondered of no one in particular as she threw her arms up into the air, "Draco, I blame you. If anyone wants me then I'll be in my room."

"Just make sure you're back when they arrive!" his father called after her but she gave no answer, his father sighed and turned to him, "And you, stay close to me."

"Why? I wanted to talk to Leebin about some things," Scorpius pointed out truthfully and his father looked incredulous, Sol laughed loudly at the griffin that just flew near him obliviously.

"Why? Odds are he won't be there anyway, that guy is always working."

"He has to, Wolfsbane is free but Lysel needs a whole costly potion regime to survive the transformations since it's even more stressful on an infant and Myriam has a hard time finding work now she's a werewolf," his mother spoke up, Leebin's wife - presumably Myriam - had been bitten by a werewolf while pregnant during the werewolf attack on Hogsmeade a year and a half ago, apparently both mother and child were infected, "And her husband will definitely be here. Lighten up, Dear, it's not that bad."

"It's not that bad?" his father repeated in frustration, "That's easy for you to say, you just sit and chat with your friend while I am left entertaining the girl of a thousand questions!"

"Well she's at that age when she questions everything, don't you remember when Scorpius was like that?"

"Yes but I can't just tell him to go ask someone else like I did with him when you two are busy talking, besides Scorpius never tried to make me play tea parties or princesses with him," his father grumbled and Scorpius laughed at the thought of his father doing either of those things, his father blushed and scowled, "I said she tried, I never said I did it!"

"Maybe you'll get that chance with Sol then," his mother pointed out jokingly and joined Scorpius in laughing, his father shooting her a dark look instead, "Maurene's only five, what do you expect?"

It wasn't long before the Leebins arrived after that, it was the first time he'd really met Leebin's family. Flannery Leebin was of average height, he had unruly reddish brown hair that and oval-shaped spectacles. His daughter - Maurene - had inherited his hair except hers was longer and glasses although her eyes were a deep brown to match her mother, she was also quite dainty like her. His wife - Myriam - was rather dainty and petite, her dark hair was neatly straight and framed her porcelain face. It hadn't struck him until then how young Leebin was. His father was just into his forties, his mother was almost there too while Leebin wasn't thirty yet. Myriam was somewhere in the middle even accounting for being a werewolf causing premature aging, she was at least a few years older than her husband.

And then there was baby Lysel. He had shockingly golden eyes like werewolves' turned after their transformation, they were eyes weighed by black bags though and in fact his skin had an unhealthy tinge to it as well. He was the same age as Sol but was noticeably smaller and thinner, he was reminded of the unhappy Vale. Unlike Vale however, Lysel seemed perfectly happy. He laughed and smiled just as much as Sol did, babbled away happily and seemed more advanced with Sol on words too. Sol was more advanced with crawling - not that it stopped Lysel from trying - but Lysel was just as energetic and playful, excitedly playing with the toys and gobbling down anything he was given. Myriam was friendly enough although after saying hello and settling in she engaged his mother in conversation, praising the decoration. Maurene went straight to his father to show her a picture she'd apparently done of him - which looked more like of penguin to Scorpius - and Leebin was thankfully hanging out with the babies in the playpen, giving Scorpius the perfect chance to speak to him.

"Ah well, that is most interesting," Leebin was saying to Lysel as he finished a string of inherent baby babble, this prompted Sol to gurgle and remove the soft toy fish he'd had in his mouth to hand to Leebin as it still dripped with saliva, "Thank you, Sol, I will treasure this gift for the rest of my life."

"Can you really understand what they're saying?" Scorpius asked curiously as he reached them, Leebin laughed and shook his head though.

"No, of course not. I'm just pretending, it's good for them."

"Right," Scorpius nodded in understanding and noticed again the difference between the two babies, thinking again of Vale who wasn't much older while Leebin gave Sol the toy back, "Is... Is Sol just fat or... what? He's bigger and chubbier then other babies."

"No, Sol is the healthy one," Leebin explained and spared his son a saddened glance, Lysel gave him a toothy oblivious grin in response, "Lysel is a werewolf, the full moon is extremely bad for him due to his age. He loses his appetite and is too weak to eat, as a result he loses weight and just starts to regain it before the full moon hits again. An unfortunate cycle. But that is why he is smaller, thinner and weaker then Sol."

"He still seems happy though and he must be stronger then he looks to get through it," Scorpius offered and continued when Leebin said nothing, "Vale is thin and he's not happy, he's a strange baby but not a werewolf."

"Vale Rooke? Cel's son?" Leebin wondered and glanced back to him, Scorpius recalled he worked with Aurors and nodded.

"Yes, he always looks sad but rarely cries. He doesn't really play and if you try he isn't interested, wave a toy in front of him enough and he might try to take it. He'll move his hand to and from it for ages before taking it and even then he just holds it, he does the same with food and it takes forever to feed him because of it. He just likes to stand and stare at the world. That's not normal, is it?"

"No."

"What is wrong with him then?"

"I don't know, it could be a number of things. It could be he was some underlying condition or a sign of trauma, neglect or abuse, or possibly picking up that behavior from witnessing a parent or carer like that," Leebin told him with a slight frown as he scratched his chin, he didn't say anything more bust stared off thoughtfully and Scorpius decided to move on. It was probably a condition or maybe seeing people grieve was bothering him.

"Can I talk you?"

"You just did," Leebin pointed out with a small smile.

"I mean in private," Scorpius admitted sheepishly, gesturing mildly to the other people in the room.

"As you wish," Leebin shrugged and Scorpius led him out after Leebin mentioned Scorpius was showing him around to his wife so that they'd know to keep an eye on the babies.

"-If it's expensive then wouldn't it matter if it breaks? Then there would be lots more pieces that are all expensive," Maurene was saying to his exasperated father as they passed them on the way out, his father giving Scorpius an annoyed look over the top of her head.

"So what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" Leebin asked him when they were well away from the parlor, Scorpius leading him around at random, "Still want help overcoming your fear of drowning?"

"No, it's not that," Scorpius shook his head and looked around, feeling rather exposed in a random corridor, "Can you cast a charm to ensure we can't be overheard or something?"

"Probably not, I did flunk out of Hogwarts and I'm pretty terrible at magic."

"Can't you try? I can't use magic outside of Hogwarts or I'd do it."

"I would but I don't want to risk accidentally blowing something up, even that vase my daughter was looking at probably cost more than my house," Leebin pointed out and Scorpius was about to insist he wouldn't have to pay for anything if it went wrong but decided against it, Leebin seemed pretty sure and somewhat ashamed, "We are a way aways from the others, would you prefer if we found a room for privacy?"

"No, it's alright," Scorpius brushed it off and started by telling him about Molly's father dying, how things were with her currently, "So what can I do? You know to help her through this?"

"Scorpius, you're actually doing everything you can already," Leebin told him with a small smile to Scorpius' surprise, "Grieving is a messy and painful process, there's no way to just snap someone through it. Ensuring she's taking care of herself and letting her lean on you emotionally_ is_ the best thing you can do, she'll talk about it when she's ready and just let her express herself."

"But I feel useless, sometimes I even just hold her silently when she cries."

"Just because you feel useless, it doesn't mean you are. These things mean more then you realize, even babies are comforted by just being held when they cry, it's very basic human behavior. As much as you want to, there's nothing you can do to take away her pain. You have to settle for just making it more bearable."

"Okay," Scorpius nodded, feeling somewhat better that Leebin thought there was nothing and moved on to the next thing he was concerned about, "So I also wanted to talk to you about my friend, Michael."

"Scorpius, do you ever feel that you focus so much on solving the world's problems to avoid facing your own?" Leebin asked of him randomly and Scorpius scoffed in disbelief.

"Of course I don't. So anyway, about Michael," Scorpius brushed it off and launched into an explanation of what had happened with Michael, not afraid to mention Rutherford chaining him up since it was apparently alright with permission. He was quite satisfied by the brief flash of outrage in Leebin's eyes when he mentioned it, "So what do I do about him?"

"Honestly... I'm not sure. People are different, every single one and I don't like to jump to conclusions especially about people I haven't spoken to. Even if I had, there's not a quick fix," Leebin explained and the disappointment must have showed on Scorpius' face as he elaborated, "Michael has been through a lot, he's had a rough life for years and there's nothing you can say that's going to make that change. The mind is a complex thing not a problem to be solved, undoing damage and healing take time. But if you do want to help your friend then you need to repair your relationship, I'd start with an apology."

"An apology? But I was right."

"About every single thing you said?" Leebin wondered and Scorpius scowled as he shook his head as he recalled some of his words, "Lashing out at him like that likely hurt his feelings, it doesn't matter if you were right or wrong. Telling someone they're upset or angry for a stupid reason isn't going to help them or change how they feel, in fact it would likely make them feel worse. You can't diminish how he feels just because you can't see it from his point of view, what matters is that he feels that way. Letting him express how he feels without being attacked for it will do more good then snapping at him, that'll just encourage him to clam up even more and he'll be even less likely to open up to you. Do you understand?"

"Hardly ever," Scorpius sighed, "Feelings are hard. How do you know what to do you?"

"I had training, remember?" Leebin chuckled.

"What are you people doing out here?" a voice questioned and they both jumped, they had been walking aimlessly and had apparently managed to cross paths with his grandmother.

"I was giving a tour," Scorpius lied and realized their talk was at an end, "Come on, Grandmother, we should probably all get back to the party though."

* * *

**Part 5: **There

* * *

The rest of the party passed uneventfully. The house elves brought out two cakes for the two babies, a huge smiley faced sun one for Sol and a towering chocolate one for Lysel. Leebin had to leave early to get back to work so Scorpius didn't get another chance to talk to him anyway, his grandmother retreated to her room as soon as the candles had been blown out and Myriam finally left with her children after that. His father wanted to spend time with him but Scorpius brushed it off, the day after next was the return to Hogwarts so he took the opportunity to pack in readiness and to pick out the blackest robes he had for the funeral tomorrow. After that, he flooed back to the Burrow for dinner.

The Weasleys had gone all out in an entirely different way for the funeral, a family more suited to bright colors became adorned in the somber colors he'd associate with his own family and decorations were all black, even the food seemed dark. Except Aurelius of course, he was wearing patchwork robes of varying shades of grays and blacks that made him look like a walking quilt. There were much more people then funerals he'd been to before, even if they either seemed to have red hair or were stuffy looking Ministry blokes. James had returned from his trip to the Bahamas with a tan and was in exceptionally good spirits, attempting to tell anyone who would listen about how great a time he'd had but everyone kept shushing him as it wasn't appropriate for a funeral. This quickly returned to him to sour spirits.

Several people gave eulogies, including each of Percy's surviving siblings and an elderly wizard he'd worked with who gave an incredibly long and dull speech on the trials and tribulations in the Department of Transportation as well as Percy's dedication to it. Even Molly said a few words to his surprise, standing up shakily and smoothing out the piece of paper she'd scrunched into a ball from nerves to read from. Speaking to a crowded funeral was probably a bit different to a speech to the Quidditch team that she was used to.

"My Father..." Molly began and trailed off, for a second Scorpius thought she was going to cry but she kept going, "My Father may not have been the most well-known Weasley or even the most popular but he was the only one I could call 'Dad.' Being born into a big family is great but can also be a lot to try stand out amongst talented or mischievous siblings, he tried his best to carve his own way and make his own name. He liked rules and order, took responsibility seriously whether it was doing his job at work, being a father or even Prefect duties back in his time at Hogwarts. It isn't always fun having responsible, having to be the bad guy and did he take his responsibility a little too seriously at times? Probably but imperfection what makes us human and what he did was still admirable. Even if we don't always like them, what is life without rules? Chaos.

"My Father was dedicated to bring order to the craziness that is life, he was dependable and he was always there. Whether it be for a birthday or Christmas, if I was ill or had a bad dream, even just replying to a letter. He would always be there. And now for the first time, he won't be," Molly's voice cracked slightly and she took another breath, wiping her eyes but continued just as strong and clear, "He was a good father and he was there, people often forget the importance of just that. Family mattered to him, more than most people know. There was a time when he estranged from them, he often said he didn't realize what he had until he lost it and because of that he appreciated his family that much more. It takes a good man to make the right decisions but it takes a great man to realize you've made the wrong decisions and to come back from them, to learn from your mistakes and have the courage to try to right them. My Father will always be a great man and I'm... I'm glad he got to be my Dad," Molly concluded with tears leaking from her eyes but was apparently done anyway as she shoved the paper in her pocket and left the podium to rejoin him.

"I wish you died," a voice whispered and Scorpius' head jumped in shock to realize it was Lucy in front of him, speaking so quietly to her sister as she passed that he very much doubted anyone other than them three heard. Molly paused momentarily as Lucy eyed her sister with a look of loathing piercing through her puffy eyes, "I wish you'd died instead of him."

Molly said nothing and instead returned to sit beside Scorpius, burying her head into his neck and crying silently for the first time that day. Although whether from her sister's words or the grief of her father's death, he wasn't sure and just held her close regardless. He had no idea what that was all about, he thought it was a pretty harsh thing to say to your sister even if she was upset. He nearly said something but he didn't want to cause a scene, besides Lucy had also lost her dad. After the funeral most people went home while they returned to the Burrow, there was a Ministry of work to get back to and trunks to be packed for the return to Hogwarts. Bill stayed though, as did Freddie with his girlfriend Caitlin and baby daughter Charla, who seemed healthy and happy like Sol, Dom and Aurelius also stayed. Things didn't seem to have improved with Bill.

"Do you ever wonder what life would be like if the sky was green and the grass was blue?" Aurelius asked randomly, earning him a murderous look from Bill.

"Are you actually insane?!" Bill demanded of him.

"I don't- Did you ever think that's a strange word?" Aurelius started to answer but veered of midsentence as something seemed to occur to him, "Insane? If sane is good the its good to be _in_ the sane which is what_ insane_ implies you think about if you didn't know what it meant previously, it would also be pointless word though since using sane would suffice like we have health but not _inhealth_ although we do have words used interchangeably in general so maybe it wouldn't be. _In_ is sometimes used as a negative prefix like inhumane but considering the meaning of the English word in, it makes the words rather funny if they ask me. In my opinion they should have used a different negative prefix like 'un' which would have been better, doesn't unsane sound much better and less confus- I'm sorry, what was the question again?"

"I want to kill you," Bill growled in frustration and his daughter shot him a dark look.

"That's not a question," Aurelius pointed worriedly before looking apologetic, "I'm sorry, I have a hard time focusing."

* * *

Michael's break had improved exponentially since Christmas, alcohol was amazing. It made him feel good for once and eventually he didn't have to worry about anything anymore, it was no wonder Annie liked it. Hangovers were not so amazing though. However as he headaches and the full moon sapping him of his strength, it wasn't too much to get through and he could avoid them depending on when he stopped. Annie also came to visit him for her 'day off' from Varanian, taking him out to the cinema and to eat out just because she figured he could use a break which was nice. He told her about what Bertie had said and she promised they'd make sure he didn't hurt his family, she seemed oddly distracted though.

"Hey!" Annie snapped abruptly and angrily as they passed a couple snogging on a bench, cutting him off mid-sentence as he was telling her about the last Quidditch match. The couple paused and looked at her in surprise, "This is public property, don't do that here!"

"Since when is that a crime?" Michael asked her quietly while the couple ignored her, irritably continuing from there they'd left off.

"Jerk bastards, think I should jinx them?" Annie grumbled, eying them murderously.

"No!" Michael protested and Annie scowled but started moving again regardless, taking a long swig from the bottle of beer she had in her hand as her expression switched to a melancholic one, "What was that about?"

"Nothing. Just forget about it. So you were being pelted by Bludgers, I believe?"

Michael did his best to, at least she restocked her dwindling apartment beer supply that she thought Jack was throwing out on her. He felt slightly guilty for taking them all but she drank too much anyway, besides she could buy more whereas he couldn't. He also went back to the old abandoned house to scour it for bottles Bob had stashed, the memories were so overwhelming he ended up using a lot of what he found though to chase away thoughts of being brutalized. He took what was left though and stowed it away in his trunk along with what he'd taken from the apartment, hopefully with some moderation it would last him until Easter. He didn't really want to go back to Hogwarts with worrying about OWLs and everything but he didn't really want to stay home either, he just didn't really want to be anywhere at all.

He made sure his trunk was packed ready before deciding he may as well have a drink on his last night before he'd have to deal with school and his friends and Rutherford, he may as well relax before he had to go pull his happy face on. The sickening liquid started to make his mind sluggish, shaking loose thoughts slowly. He was worried about leaving, not just because of facing Hogwarts but because of what he was leaving behind. Bertie had been happier after talking him and frequently liked following him around because he felt safe with him, Michael wasn't supposed to use magic outside Hogwarts but if Jack tried to harm one of his siblings then he would defend them and he was quite capable. He excelled at casting a Patronus and was quite good at Defense Against the Dark Arts, Ashain was a good teacher. However he worried about Bertie's safety and the others for while he was gone, would Varanian really be able ensure they were safe?

He groaned and started on another bottle, drinking was supposed to make him not worry about things. Why should he have to worry about protecting his family from his dad destroying their souls anyway? He was fifteen, he was supposed to be just fifteen. Why did everything have to rest on him? Didn't most fifteen year olds just worried about grades, girls and sports? Adults were the ones who should have to worry about stopping people destroying souls. Why did Jack have to go and do this? Things could finally have been stable at home and he has to go join the Shadows or One or... something. He felt tears prick his eyes, why couldn't he just have a normal dad who loved him and didn't make deals with darkness or beat him? Didn't Jack know he was at risk now? He could die, Shadows were not people to make deals with. Whatever he'd said, he didn't want his dad to die and it hurt. It hurt to think his dad might die, that his mum might die, that his brothers and sisters might die just because of Jack. Why had he done that? _Why_?!

Michael had to know, he had to know why before he left. He finished the bottle and pulled his body up, making the world spin dizzyingly. He wiped the tears from his eyes and continued on though, standing and staggering to the door on unsteady legs. Jack was still there, of course he was still there because he was always still there. He leaned on the wall for support as he moved down the corridor, his parents' voices reaching him from downstairs before he'd even gotten to the top of the stairs. Had the corridor always been so long?

"You've been so good to me, Jack," Crystal was saying, "These past few months with the little ones and Michael... I don't know what's up with him lately. I don't know how I could've done it without you."

"Of course you could have. You're stronger then you think, forget what that monster said," Jack's voice assured her and there was a pause so long that Michael wondered if their voices had gone invisible. Wait, could voices go invisible?

"I lied to you before," Crystal's voice finally returned as he reached the top of the stairs, not looking forward to the mountain he had to climb down but he had to know. He was going to confront Jack, dammit! He had his wand. Wait, did he have his wand?

"Lied about what?" Jack wondered in obvious confusion as Michael started to head down, quietly clutching the bannister and moving slowly to keep himself steady.

"I never stopped loving you," Crystal said breathlessly and Michael's head shot in their direction so fast he swore he heard a crack, looking through the bannister he could clearly see them sitting beside each other on the couch gazing into each other's eyes.

"Me either," Jack whispered and Crystal leaned in, pressing her lips against Jack's. Michael felt as if he'd been slapped in the face, he almost threw up but thankfully Jack pushed her away and his next words sounded tearful, "We can't do this, Crystal, I'll just end up hurting you again."

"After everything I've been through, there's nothing you can do to hurt me more than I've already been hurt," Crystal assured him and leaned in again.

This time Jack only hesitated slightly before giving in, cupping her face as he kissed her passionately back. Michael gagged and bolting back upstairs, shocked and shaking with all thoughts of confronting Jack gone from his mind. He threw himself back onto his bed, he wasn't sure if it was because of the drink but he couldn't even process what he'd seen. His parents... what?! Just... what?! What was Crystal thinking?! Was she insane?! Was he the only sane one in the entire damn family?! What the hell?! Just... _What?!_ And it only got worse as he heard his parents coming up the stairs, he poked his head out to see. Their lips were still locked, hands all over each other as they practically fell through her bedroom door. He slammed his own in disgust but they didn't notice or at least no one came to see him, he grabbed another bottle and drank. He just drank.

* * *

Scorpius claimed to go to bed early to give him a chance to speak to Varanian, Portkeying himself to the hideout and having to trudge through the slushy remnants of snow to reach it. He passed Roman on his way in, the man looking just about ready for bed and holding a cup of cocoa. He spared Scorpius a solemn glance which made the shadows beneath his eyes more noticeable.

"How did Christmas with Orous go?" Scorpius asked out of curiosity.

"I'm a terrible father and I hate both myself and my life," Roman told him deadpan as he headed into his room, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Scorpius offered uncertainly and headed down into Varanian's basement, Annie was sitting at the table practicing Transfiguration by the looks of it with her back to Varanian while the metamorphmagus himself was facing the board although had his head swiveled over his shoulder to watch her, "Hey."

"Hey," Varanian offered as both adults turned to him instead, "Long time, no see."

"I was bus-"

"Its fine," Varanian brushed it off as Scorpius continued down the stairs, Annie took a swig of the beer bottle she had with her which had Varanian scowl.

"So did you find out anything?" Scorpius asked as Varanian pulled up chairs for them, Annie went back to trying to transfiguring buttons into beetles.

"Yes," Varanian confirmed with a distracted nod as he glanced at Annie, now not even needing to look over his shoulder to stare at the back of his head. Scorpius waited for him to continue but Varanian seemed to have lost himself in thought.

"Are you going to tell me what?" Scorpius prompted, jostling Varanian from his thoughts and drawing his attention back to him.

"What?" Varanian wondered and Scorpius felt incredulous at his lack of focus.

"About Percy Weasley's killer and the attack on the school."

"Oh yeah, I found out who killed him and I know about the attack," Varanian confirmed and was distracted again as Annie took another swig from her drink, which apparently finished it off.

"Well now I need another one," Annie decided as she stood to leave, "I'll be back."

"You don't need a drink," Varanian protested in exasperation but she left anyway and frowned after her instead of returning to the conversation with Scorpius.

"Varanian!" Scorpius snapped at him which successfully drew his attention again, "Focus! What is wrong with you?!"

"Nothing!"

"Then stop staring at Annie and tell me what you know."

"I wasn't staring at her, I was making sure she was doing the wand movement correctly," Varanian insisted icily while his face flushed, much to Scorpius' surprise, "You're awfully pushy today."

"Only because you're awfully... weird," Scorpius admitted slowly, not sure what to make of Varanian's odd behavior but the metamorphmagi chose to clear his throat and move on.

"Anyway, Selwyn is the one who killed your girlfriend's dad. He was there for some other reason and when he was discovered there was a short scuffle, Percy got killed and Molly slashed Selwyn's face. They haven't mentioned what he was after but are greatly amused the torturer got his face slashed by a girl not out of Hogwarts yet."

"Okay," Scorpius nodded, pleased to have a name for Percy's killer, "What about Hogwarts? Why were the Shadows trying to break in?"

"They weren't."

"What?" Scorpius wondered in confusion, his face twisting into a scowl, "But I read Alzay Loren broke in?"

"She did but it wasn't on Shadow business, she wants revenge on her son for killing her father. She broke in without any kind of authorization and approval, the Shadows had nothing to do with it," Varanian explained, Scorpius felt a slight bit relieved the Shadows weren't after the school again but also a slight bit worried that Maurice was wanted dead, "So there you have it."

"Have you figured out anything else important?" Scorpius asked of him and Varanian shook his head while his attention drifted back to the staircase, staring after Annie weirdly. He had no idea what was going on with him, he decided he'd chalk it up to it being Christmas time and only worry if Varanian was still acting strangely next time he saw him, "I'll see you then, I'm back to Hogwarts tomorrow."

"I know," Varanian confirmed with a nod and offered a hand in farewell as Scorpius headed off, passing Annie on her way back now with a new bottle, "Be careful, Scorpius, good luck with Rutherford."

Scorpius nodded as he left, trudging back through the slush and Portkeying back to his room in the Burrow. He felt thirsty after that and headed down the many flights of stairs, however he stopped when he noticed light from Molly's room and the door wide open in passing. Instead he took a detour and went to investigate, he poked his head in and saw she was packing the trunk that lay open on her bed. He leaned in the doorway and Molly glanced at him as she noticed him.

"So what did Aaron say?" Molly asked of him using their code name for Varanian, much to his surprise.

"How did you-"

"You're wearing your leather jacket and your shoes have slush on them, clearly you went somewhere and I'd guess Aaron since you went to bed early."

"Clever," Scorpius complimented her powers of deduction and she inclined her head as she continued packing, "He told me some things but it can wait. What are you doing?"

"Just packing so I can go back to the grind."

"You know, I'm sure it would be okay for you to put off going back for a while if you don't feel up to it."

"No, its okay," Molly shook her head, "Will be good to have classes to distract me, besides it's my final year and my Dad wouldn't have wanted me to miss it. Not like I'm really doing another then mope around here anyway, I don't know what's wrong with me."

"Your father died, you're allowed to be upset," Scorpius offered gently as he approached her.

"I'm of age!"

"Adults are allowed to grieve too."

"I know, I just... I still feel like I should be stronger," Molly admitted with a sigh, "After Mother died, he was all the parent I had left and it just... hurts. To think that I have no one at home to write back to, that I don't even have a home to go back, that he won't get to see me graduate like he wanted or my see my NEWT results, that he never even got to open the Christmas present I got him..."

"It's okay," Scorpius told her lamely as he pulled her into a hug, sensing she was on the verge of tears again, "And you do have a home and family, your grandparents here and aunts and uncles, cousins. You have such a big family."

"It's not the same," Molly said sadly as she pulled away but seemed to have composed herself, "I won't be coming back here anyway. If there's any morbidly good thing to take from this, it's that after I graduate I can go to helping Aaron full time like Lat's doing without having to deal with my Father. This war has taken enough people from me and I'm going to fight until it kills me or them, you were right all along. This is the priority."

"Yeah," Scorpius muttered, feeling oddly disheartened now that Molly was focused on the war, "But there's still two terms to go, exams and Quidditch."

"Quidditch?" Molly repeated and her eyes drifted sadly to a broom resting in the corner and it wasn't her usual broom. It looked new, with sleek black handle which contrasted with the clear white-gray bristles. On the handle was '_Fallstar_' engraved in white letters.

"_Fallstar?_ I haven't heard of it," Scorpius admitted and Molly shrugged.

"You wouldn't, it's not on the market yet. My Father used his connections as the Head of the Department of Transportation to get it, it's the fastest broom in the world apparently and has only just been approved."

"Have you tried it out yet?"

"No, my Father gave it to me just before he died. The last Christmas present he ever gave me... I'm not sure I should even bring it."

"You should," Scorpius offered encouragingly, "Your Father wanted you to have it, I'm sure he'd like for you to use it too."

"I don't feel like I even deserve it," Molly told him as she sat down unhappily on the edge of her bed, he sat cautiously beside her, "Do you know how my Father died?"

"Not exactly," Scorpius said slowly, he knew who and got the gist of what had happened from what Varanian had told him.

"We went to see what was taking Lucy so long and heard voices in her room, we walked in and there was a Shadow - he was wearing their emblem. He fired a Killing Curse the second I opened the door, I threw myself out of the way and... and of course, my Father was standing right behind me. He took the curse instead. It's my fault, it's all my fault he died," Molly explained tearing up again, "If I hadn't moved then he'd still be alive."

"It's not your fault," Scorpius assured her seriously as he put his arm around her, although he thought he knew why Lucy had said what she had earlier.

"But-"

"But nothing, it's instinct to get out of the way when a fatal curse is fired at you! It's what we've been taught! When you have a split second to react, that's your first reaction, that's anyone's first reaction. Don't you think that if your Father had gone in first then he would have done_ exactly_ the same as you did? That he'd be the one sitting here beating himself up for his instincts?"

"I guess... maybe," Molly admitted hesitantly, seeming taken aback by his argument, "But then what about my premonition? I'm certain that was about my Father, I saw his death and I didn't save him. What's the point in seeing the future if I can't stop the bad things I see from happening?"

"The future's a tricky thing," Scorpius pointed out quite truthfully, "You should know that more than I do, it's not your fault just because you had a premonition that you didn't even remember. It's not your fault, Molly, and that's the truth whether you can see it now or not. If you could've saved your Father then you would have, this isn't your fault. It's the man that fired that curse."

"And you know who that is, don't you?"

"Selwyn. Apparently he's pretty sore about having his face slashed by a girl not out of Hogwarts yet."

"I hope it hurt," Molly muttered darkly and looked thoughtful before glancing back to him, "Thank you."

"It's nothing, you should thank Aaron since he's the one who-"

"No thank you just... for everything," Molly interrupted and Scorpius hoped his cheeks didn't tinge pink, "It can't have been fun hanging out here with me instead of with your family."

"Well I don't care what's fun, I care about _you_. In the good times and the bad," Scorpius offered awkwardly and lamely, not sure how to express himself. Molly pressed her lips against his briefly and gave him another tight hug, he held her close and hoped he'd never have to let her go. He pulled away though and stood, knowing it was getting quite late now and she still had to pack, "But erm... you should finish packing if you want to be there tomorrow."

"Yeah," Molly nodded in agreement as she stood also.

"Want some help?" Scorpius offered as he picked up a pile of clothing by the trunk until he noticed the top item was a frilly bra, his face flushed a furiously deep shade of scarlet and he immediately handed the pile to her, "Or mayb-maybe I should jus-just leave you to it."

"Maybe you should," Molly grinned at him in amusement as he left her to it, "Night, Scor."

"Night, Mol," Scorpius called back to her in a squeak as he hurried back to his room. It was only much later that he realized that had been the first time Molly had smiled all break.

The next day Scorpius Flooed back to the Manor to go to the platform with his parents, he thought it was kind of a waste of trip when he could just have easily gone with them or Molly with his family but he hadn't thought to ask his parents beforehand and he was worried seeing him saying goodbye to his parents might be upsetting in the wake of her father's death anyway. He was actually quite looking forward to being back to Hogwarts despite everything, it was at least more productive. They arrived on the platform with plenty of time to spare, passing Byron Knight in tears begging to not have to go back to Hogwarts to get his trunk onto the train.

"Well bye," Scorpius offered to his parents and went to go find his friends but his father grabbed him back, "What?"

"Can't you spend more than five seconds with your family? We've barely seen you all break and you'll have the whole term with your friends," his father asked of him, looking oddly... upset?

"Hi Scor!" a familiar voice greeting him saved him from having to answer, Orous coming over to him with a friendly smile, "How was your Christmas?"

"Whatever," his father growled unhappily as Scorpius started talking with Orous, his mother having to put a soothing hand on his shoulder.

"Orous!" a girl's voice called out delightedly, cutting off Scorpius' question about Orous' Christmas and in the next instant Lily had reached them with a wide smile as she hugged her boyfriend.

Orous smiled as well as they pulled apart, Scorpius noticed the rest of the Potters - minus Harry - just behind her with Vern, clearly they had just arrived and were going over to put their trunks on the train. James abandoned them, waving as he apparently spotted a friend and went to greet them and Albus stood glowering at Orous. Mrs Potter and Vern seemed to take this opportunity to take this as a sign it was their responsibility to get the trunks onto the train as they headed off to do that.

"Orous, I wanted to talk to you real quick," Albus offered in a growl that wiped the smile from Orous' face, making the albino look exceptionally worried. Lily was completely unfazed though.

"Shove off, Al," Lily told him quite calmly but strongly and Albus' jaw dropped as his little sister took Orous' hand, leading the now surprised boy away, "So how was your break?"

"Can you- I- Did you just see that?!"

"See what?" Rose asked as she joined them, flipping her untied hair back over her shoulder.

"Lily told me to shove off!"

"Well Al, shove off. She can date who she wants."

"Just like Maurice can date who he wants?" Albus countered and Rose's face went as red as her hair.

"That's completely different! Orous is a good person, Lenore is evil and is taking advantage of him," Rose insisted and gestured into the crowd where he saw Lenore hugging the man he'd seen her with before, who he assumed was her uncle.

"I know that guy," his father spoke up abruptly, Scorpius hadn't even realized his parents were still close enough to hear, "He was a Death Eater."

"A Death Eater you say? See, she's hanging out with Death Eater. She _is_ evil," Rose said triumphantly before seeming to realize that might have been offensive to his father as she glanced back to him as Latimer and Molly joined them, "Not that all Death Eaters were evil. Just ones that aren't you, Mr Malfoy."

"Nice save," Latimer quipped in quiet sarcasm that had Rose bat him as she blushed, Scorpius gave Molly a hug. He was surprised to see Lenore spot them over her shoulder, heading over to them instead. She was already dressed in her Hogwarts robes, her shiny prefect and Head Girl badges in place.

"Hello," Lenore offered almost reluctantly in greeting.

"Did you know that guy you were with is a Death Eater?" Rose blurted out immediately.

"You mean my uncle? Yes, yes I do and he's the greatest man I've ever known," Lenore insisted, sounding extremely certain and so sure it took Rose by surprise and Lenore moved on before Rose could think of a reply, "Anyway, I just wanted to ask if any of you know sign language. I've been trying to learn it to surprise Maur when I see him again and I want to make sure I'm doing it right not accidentally insulting him."

"Well we don't speak sign language. Why would we do that?"

"Because you're supposed to be his friends and he finds it easier than his necklace but never mind then," Lenore explained and went to leave, hesitating when she spotted Molly, "I um... I'm sorry about your Father by the way, I know that's pretty rough."

"Thank you," Molly said quietly and Lenore continued off.

"Can you believe her?!" Rose snapped, "Pretending to be all nice and calling him 'Maur' and since when did he like sign language better than his necklace, that is so much easier and obviously what he prefers."

Scorpius still wasn't sure what to make of Lenore but he thought Rose was wrong, at the very least she wasn't the source of all evil even if she wasn't the more altruistic person to ever walk the Earth. He caught up with his other friends as he waited, meeting up with them as they arrived except for Maurice who was back in Hogwarts and Michael who was oddly late. It wasn't until people were starting to board the train that he finally caught a glimpse of that tangled mane of hair and heard his friend's voice.

"Why do people have to be so loud?" Michael groaned, head hung as he rubbed his temples.

"Oh sweetheart, is that aspirin still not kicking in?" Crystal offered gently with a look of concern, Michael went to shake his head but seemingly thought better of it. She kissed his forehead as if he was a small child like the swarm of young siblings with her as well as - surprisingly - Jack, "I'll get your trunk on the train, we're lucky to have made it in time."

"I'll stay with him," Jack offered and Crystal flashed him a smile that he returned widely as she pushed the trolley with the little ones.

"Can't you just stay away from her?" Michael complained darkly and glanced up to his dad, "Stay away from all of them. You're only going to hurt her. If you really care about her then you'll stay away from her and from the little ones. Do you understand? Don't hurt _any_ of them."

"Mikey-"

"For once in my life, can't you get my name right?!"

"Hey Michael," Scorpius greeted him, deciding to step in and Michael almost flinched.

"Why do you have speak so loud?!"

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed," Jack explained to him with a smile, "Migraine to boot. Nice jacket, by the way."

"Thanks," Scorpius said and felt a sad pang, Jack had been the one to introduce him to leather jackets he loved and motorcycles. And now he was involved with a Specter.

Crystal returned momentarily and Michael barely had time to bid them all farewell before leaving, Scorpius said goodbye to his own parents and got a sloppy kiss from Sol before he also joined the others on the train. He didn't have time to speak to Michael like he'd wanted as his friend had to sit in the prefect compartment, along with Molly, Abby and Latimer. The train journey was uneventful and filled mostly catching up with the friends he could see, especially the ones he hadn't seen over the break. He didn't manage to get a carriage with Michael either and Rutherford's stupid seating plan meant Abby was the only one of his friends he could talk to, her Christmas hadn't been too bad considering the absence of two of her siblings which was good. He also noticed that despite the papers make light of Marigold's injuries, he was the one in a sling while Rutherford seemed unhurt. After an admittedly delicious feast, they trudged back to their dormitories and he finally got to speak to Michael.

"I wanted to apologize," Scorpius offered as soon as the other three went to the bathroom, Michael looked back to him in surprise, "I shouldn't have been so harsh on you before, I was just upset you were hurt."

"It's alright," Michael brushed it off with a smile and a dismissive gesture, "Water under the bridge."


	11. Chapter 11: A Dark Descent

_**Parts (43-47)**_

* * *

**V  
**

**Chapter 11  
**

A Dark Descent

* * *

**Part 1:** Teaching and Torture

* * *

Teachers wasted no time in throwing them back into preparing for OWLs, speeches were given on the massive importance in studying now they over the longest term and every class without fail - even the ones usually light on homework - buried them in things to do the first week back. It was the same for Molly and Latimer except with NEWTs, Scorpius envied his Fourth Year friends for not having work to drown in. Except of course for Maurice, who was now in their classes which was... odd.

Scorpius was used to - generally - being the most talented at spell work, wand work had come naturally to him since his very First Year but Maurice was easily on par with him. Maurice was also smart, his hand was always the first to shoot up when a question was asked - to Rose's immense frustration - and he had yet to be wrong. Maurice was a fast reader and fast writer - without losing legibility - which also meant he was done the fastest when it came to written work, his intense years of schooling had certainly made him knowledgeable. Scorpius just hadn't realized how much until he was put into a classroom with him. Maurice just excelled, surpassing his older peers much to many people's annoyance and Scorpius was one of them. It hurt more then he'd thought it would to not be the best anymore, he felt talentless compared to the younger deaf boy.

And he didn't even have Quidditch to distract him. Molly was usually right on the ball with practices, having scheduled out what to do over the break and wasted no time in getting them back on the pitch to prepare. Until now. He knew - or at least figured - she hadn't done much if any planning due to her father's death but he'd also thought she'd have started working on it after getting back, expecting any day for practices to be posted. But it wasn't, the days started to tally up without practice times being put up on the notice board. It didn't help Vern and Orous - who were on the Hufflepuff team and who they'd be playing next - regularly went to practices or that Albus bragged about his girlfriend - Grozda, the Captain of the Slytherin team - was getting her team into shape for the next match. People were starting to ask questions.

"Scor, when are we going to start having practices again?" Rufus Rhett the Reserve Keeper that Molly was trying to train up to replace her after her graduation asked him one of the days, "I got a new broom for Christmas, I'm dying to try it out. Plus I miss being able to use practice as an excuse for late homework."

"I don't know, ask Molly," Scorpius offered.

"I tried! She said soon but that was two weeks ago."

"Alright, alright, I'll talk to her," Scorpius agreed and Rufus thanked him before leaving.

Scorpius did mean to talk to her, just like he was still meaning to find a good time to talk to Antonius but he was just so busy. He was often up late scrambling to get essays in and on top of that was still practicing to become an animagus, knowing he was making progress as well as Michael's experience at Rutherford's hands had spurred him on that it was something he needed to work on so as soon as he could, he had. This time he was making sure to check for changes and saw that he was, his skin would randomly change color or turn scaly or suddenly bushy with hair before turning back, once his nail became a claw. He also felt oddly excited by it, wondering what he'd end up as. It was too soon for the changes to give him any kind of hint, his body was still trying to figure out what he would be. On top of that, he was also back to learning Occlumency with Maurice and he was also pleased to be making progress with that. Maybe it was because he had so many thoughts bouncing around his brain these days but he was getting better at shutting them out so Maurice couldn't see.

And there was his friends themselves. Maurice was still dating Lenore - he'd been ecstatic at her greeting him in Sign Language - which meant that Rose was still hating on Lenore, Albus was still dating Grozda - and still showering her with gifts and romantic gestures, causing Scorpius to still worry he was a terrible boyfriend to Molly - which meant Abby was still upset the guy she liked was with someone else, Orous was also still dating Lily which Albus grumbled unhappily about and Corin seemed upset in general to be alone. Vern alone seemed in somewhat better spirits as he was in contact with his brother again, Latimer seemed thankfully alright and Molly was dealing with her grief by throwing herself into work. And then there was Michael, if you spoke to him then he seemed fine but he didn't seem to _want_ to speak to them.

He wouldn't automatically seat with them in class unless you explicitly asked him too or went to sit by him, in fact he seemed to try sit as far from their usual seats as possible. It was the same for studying except he often didn't go to the Library unless he needed the books there, he much preferred just hanging out alone in the dormitory. He also seemed weirdly cheerful in the evening sometimes, chatting happily - even if he mixed up words sometimes or told the same thing multiple times - and laughing. Scorpius had no idea what was going on with him, if he called him on his strange behavior he'd just say their drama distracted him from studying which was he preferred to be alone for it since OWLs for so important and he wanted to concentrate. He said he was in a good mood later on because his work would be done and he could relax, he was trying to be positive. Scorpius struggled to buy it even if the others did, it seemed he'd gotten over a lot of issues randomly quickly which went against what Leebin had said. Still, at least for the full moon he was in the Hospital Wing, Rutherford was still backing off. For now anyway. Scorpius couldn't shake the feeling something was wrong though and if it wasn't, then it soon would be.

* * *

_"I don't like this," Sal complained as they waited for someone to return, "It's like we're still prisoners, just in a nicer cell."_

_"You think-" Tommy started to say but was cut off as the door swung open again, Uncle Lucius returned and tossed clothes at them._

_"Put those old things on, you need to look at least halfway presentable before- Not in front of me! Have some sense of decorum!" Uncle Lucius snapped, changing his sentence halfway through as they started to undress and he stopped in surprise as he went to turn his head back away, "You're a girl?"_

_"Yeah," Sal confirmed as she started pulling on the new pair of trousers, "What about it? And what decorum mean?"_

_"If I had known that then I would've gotten you some girl's clothes," Uncle Lucius said with a look of exasperation, "And decorum means not changing clothes in front of other people, especially not those of the opposite gender to yourself!"_

_"Oh, I'm sorry, Uncle Lucius," Tommy apologized as he pulled on the new shirt, the fabric feeling much softer on his skin, "We didn't know, we've never changed clothes before."_

_"Well you know for next time. And get a move on, the Dark Lord does not like to be kept waiting."_

_"We get to meet our Father?" Sal asked eagerly with eyes full of hope and her face lit up when Uncle Lucius nodded._

_"So hurry up!" Uncle Lucius barked and they moved faster._

_He still had to help them with the shoes and socks though as they'd never worn any. Tommy thought it was nice to have your feet feeling comfy and warm. And then they were on their way back through the mansion, his eyes darted interestedly at the various things they passed. It was so different to filthy cells in Azkaban, Tommy was feeling hopeful about the future for once._

_"Isn't this great?" Sal said to him excitedly in Parseltongue that earned an odd backward glance from Uncle Lucius, "We get to meet our Father. I hope he likes us."_

_"Of course he'll like us, he has to because he's our Father, right?" Tommy wondered back in Parseltongue, "I mean Mother likes us even if she gets annoyed as sometimes."_

_"Mostly me."_

_"Yeah but if Mother likes me more than Father should like you more, I'm sure you'll get on really great with him."_

_"I hope so. He's probably really nice if Mother thinks so highly of him and he has so many people following him."_

_"Exactly," Tommy nodded in confirmation, smiling himself at the thought of meeting the great father he had that their mother had always praised._

_Finally Uncle Lucius brought them into another room where their mother - now dressed in dark elegant robes that clung tightly to her figure - was waiting with a strange looking man, dressed in black robes. Unlike his uncle and aunt, the man didn't look healthy as his chalky white face resembled a skull - including just slits for nostrils - and his tall body was skeletally thin. His eyes were the color of blood and focused on them, inspecting them like pieces of meat. Uncle Lucius pushed them in front of him._

_"So these are them? My children, my heirs," the strange man said as he paced around them in a high, cold voice that was almost chilling but Tommy didn't care. This man was his father, he didn't care how he looked or sounded as long as his father liked him, "Not much to look at, are they?"_

_"They have been in Azkaban, my Lord, born and raised," their mother pointed out and their father nodded slowly._

_"I suppose that is something to take into account, they may be worthy enough to become Horcruxes yet. I still need more to have seven. Which is which?"_

_"I'm Tommy," Tommy blurted out before he could stop himself, surprised that Sal hadn't been him to it but she gazing at their father with a kind of awe and desperation mingled on her face, "And that's Sal."_

_"Named after yourself and your ancestor of course," their mother spoke up._

_"As you've mentioned, Bellatrix," their father spoke almost chidingly, "But there's nothing wrong with choosing to fashion yourself a new name if they prefer Tommy and Sal then Tommy and Sal they are. So tell me, Tommy, what magic do you know?"_

_"Magic?" Tommy repeated nervously, exchanging a look with Sal, "We don't... We don't really know any magic."_

_"You don't know magic?! What kind of magical adolescents don't know magic?!" their father raged, turning immediately angrily and Tommy felt afraid._

_"Well we were in Azkaban, we didn't-"_

_Tommy was silenced as their father struck him across the face, much like their mother but with much more force that knocked him back to the ground. He glanced at his mother but she made no move to help him, he looked back to his father and saw a thin stick was now held in his hand. A wand._

_"He is right, you know," their mother said unusually meekly, "They can learn. They can be taught."_

_"What use are non-magical children?!" their father spat as he raised his wand to Tommy, "Little more than muggles, then squibs. Not worthy of my blood, of Slytherin's blood. You're of no use to me, I can't make a Horcrux out a filthy squib. Ava-"_

_"But we're still your children!" Sal hissed at him in Parseltongue and their father's rage evaporated into shock as he turned to her, "Doesn't that mattered to you? And we're not squibs."_

_"You can speak in the serpent's tongue?" their father wondered, striding over to her and Sal fearlessly looked him in the eye._

_"Of course I can. And so can he."_

_"Yeah I can," Tommy babbled out in Parseltongue as he scrambled back to his feet, his father spared him a glance._

_"We're magical, we're worthy. You just need to give us a chance to prove it and we will," Sal insisted and their father looked back to her for a long moment._

_"Very well, Sal, you can have a chance," their father said finally before switching back to English, "They're to be taught magic! Watch them a minute, Bellatrix, while I find your husband. Rodolphus and Lucius can handle this."_

_"As you wish, my Lord. A wise choice, my Lord," their mother offered, looking almost relieved as their father left, "Come here, Tommy."_

_"Yes, Mother?" Tommy wondered obediently as he approached her, feeling somewhat fearful as she withdrew a shiny, sharpened blade._

_"I'm going to give you some incentive because I want you to do well," she explained quite calmly as she ripped one of his sleeves to expose his bony white forearm._

_"What-"_

_Tommy started to reply but it became a scream as she pressed the knife in to his arm, pain and blood erupted from it. He tried to pull away but her other arm kept a tight grip on his, her bony fingers digging into his arm forcefully and all he accomplished was falling. She landed onto of him but didn't break her grip, instead straddling him and keeping his arm pinned to the ground._

_"Mother, please," he whimpered._

_He cried out again as the blade pierced his arm once more, this time struggling did nothing as she drew the blade through his arm. He screamed as the knife tore through his flesh, tears bubbling in his eyes as the blood bubbled from the wound. Over and over, he just kept screaming. Finally she stopped, wiping his blood on his clothes and pocketing the knife. Instead she withdrew her wand and gestured to the wound, he flinched expecting more pain but all he felt was a heat and the bleeding stopped. She waved the stick over his arm again and blood was washed away, leaving just the lines she'd carved into his skin. A crude but unmistakable Dark Mark._

_"There's incentive for you, Tommy, if you be good enough for your father then you get to have that turned into a real one," his mother offered quite cheerfully and clambered off him as their father returned._

_"What are you doing on the ground?!" his father snapped at him angrily, hauling him up, "Come with me, children, Bellatrix you stay."_

_Tommy was at least grateful his father hadn't grabbed his injured arm as it was stinging enough already to lead him back through the house yet again, Sal following after them. They were taken to another room to be left to do magic, shoved inside where Uncle Lucius and a man he would learn was called Rodolphus Lestrange were to start 'teaching' them magic. Tommy would soon learn there was a lot worse pain then having the Dark Mark carved into his flesh, he'd also start to think of 'teaching' and 'torturing' as interchangeable terms._

* * *

James was kind of bummed to be back in Hogwarts, compared to the awesomeness of his vacation with Carver and Xerxes in the Bahamas... It was just dull. He preferred it to home though, no one had been interested in hearing about how great a time he'd had. Except Abby and August Longbottom, at least to ask if he'd seen their sister while there and had lost interest when he'd said he hadn't. It was also annoying not having servants to do things for him anymore, they'd unpacked and packed for him along with other chores that his mother now wanted him to do. He might not have minded so much if he hadn't been disgusted with how little respect his family gave him, Xerxes had trusted that he was of age and capable of making his own decisions when it came to things from bed time to drinking. Xerxes treated him like the man he was but his family? No. His mother insisted he had the same bed time as his little brother and no one let him have so much as a glass of wine at the funeral, he was outraged that they thought so little of him.

And so he was glad to be back to Hogwarts in that way at least, they had rules but that was because it was a school not because they had no respect for him like his family. He knew he shouldn't be surprised, he'd known they'd thought little of him and preferred Albus or Lily or even Vern to him. He bet when Albus came of age next year that _he_ would be given the privileges denied to James. Classes were alright, he was only doing four subjects for NEWTs - Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology and Muggle studies - which were all subjects he liked or at least were bearable. Unfortunately he only had two of those classes with Carver, James hadn't done well enough to do Transfiguration or Potions like Carver and likewise, Carver hadn't done well enough to do Muggle Studies or Herbology with him. He still had some friends in Herbology but was abysmally alone in Muggle Studies, he mostly slept through the lessons and just asked his muggle-loving grandfather or his muggle-born friend for answers for homework. It was a pretty easy - albeit boring - subject. They were still classes though and he'd rather not have to work if he didn't have to, they were pointless anyway considering he still intended on becoming a professional Quidditch player which needed no OWLs or NEWTs.

The other good about NEWTs though and about not doing so many subjects, was that his schedule was quite spacious and he had much more free time. And how did he use this free time? To hound the Slytherin who had wronged him of course, upstart brat who thought he was better than everyone else. He was quite satisfied to have knocked out a tooth first time he'd seen him since before the break, he also amused his friends - minus Carver who would have no part in 'attacking' a Second Year - by charming the boy's prosthetic legs to kick him and asking him why he was kicking himself. James felt much more at ease after talking to Xerxes, knowing an adult he respected agreed with what he was doing and thought it was alright. Even if Carver thought different like one time after James came late back from dinner after pummeling the Slytherin.

"You have to stop doing that," Carver insisted the second he was through the door, the rest of his dormitory already sound asleep except the patrolling prefect.

"Doing what? The kid deserves it and your Dad agrees!" James pointed out quite truthfully, he wished Carver would lay off him about this boy although he thought Carver was sexy when he was passionate about something.

"Jay, you can't take what my Dad says seriously," Carver said a roll of his eyes.

"Why not?"

"Because he just told you those things because he knew that was what you wanted to hear! Not because it was the truth or even what he believes," Carver told him firmly and made an effort to lower his voice lest he wake anyone, "He never went to Hogwarts, he doesn't care about the animosity between Slytherins and Gryffindors. He's not even British, he wasn't affected by Voldemort and doesn't care about the animosity towards those associated with Death Eaters."

"I wasn't in one of the countries Grindelwald terrorized but I still hate people who supported him," James countered as he folded his arms, "Just because you're upset about your Dad leaving your Mum-"

"I'm not upset about my Dad leaving my Mum!" Caver interrupted him, "They were never together and they never even liked each other, I'm the worthless accident of a drunken one night. I know my Dad and he's not a good person, he's not the worst but he's not good."

"Carve, the man was nothing_ but_ good to me. He treats me better than my own family."

"Because he wants you to like him, he wants you to trust him and he does that by telling you what you want to hear, pretending to understand you, preying on your emotions and manipulating you."

"Why would he do that?" James wondered in incredulously, he hadn't realized Carver had so many issues with his own father. Carver paused, opening and closing his mouth a few times as if unsure what to say, "You don't even know, do you?"

"Because your Harry Potter's son, that's the only reason he's interested in you," Carver said finally, "And what he's telling you is wrong. He doesn't think bullying a kid four years below you is alright just because they're a Slytherin and he doesn't think its okay to hurt people, he knows it's wrong and he just doesn't care."

"You're such a hypocrite," James complained, annoyed that Carver was against him now, "You used to give people a hard time too, just as much as me."

"Yes I did but I knew it was wrong and I just didn't care, I didn't delude myself into believe otherwise the way he's trying to do to you," Carver pointed out as he came to stand in front of him, "You've got to stop picking on people so much smaller, weaker and younger then yourself. At the very least give poor Byron a break, you blame him for crap but he's not the one you're really mad at."

"I can't get back at the people I'm madder at because they can fight back!"

"I don't care, you have to stop! I'm worried about you," Carver admitted and truly looked it, "You're of age now, you're strong and talented and you can do some serious damage, _especially_ to those younger like Byron. One of these days, you're going to go too far and he's going to get really hurt. And when that happens, you'll be in a lot of trouble. You won't be able to come from it. And I don't want that to happen to you, you mean too much to me. Just leave Byron alone."

"Please, I'm Harry Potter's son. I can come back from anything," James scoffed confidently, especially since their Headmaster hero-worshipped the guy.

"Please, Jay, for me?" Carver asked pleadingly and James was taken aback, Carver was not one to beg. He considered it for a long moment, staring into Carver's bright eyes before finally shaking his head as he went to his own bed.

"I'm sorry, Carve. Its better this way, I can do whatever I want to him because he's too much of a scumbag coward to talk. I haven't got in trouble once this year, unlike previous years because you're more likely to get caught with other people. It'll be fine, you'll see," James assured him confidently, Carver looked less than convinced as he climbed back into his own bed, "I promise you'll see."

* * *

**Part 2: **Secret Deals

* * *

Roman sat at the table in the kitchen, staring down at the untouched bowl of soup that was supposed to be his lunch. Fatherhood was something that tormented him, fathers were supposed to raise their children, love them, protect them, care for them but he did nothing. An evil Shadow school had raised Maurice, a perfect stepfather had raised Orous and the woman he loved had raised Cyrus. Assuming that in fact he was correct in his suspicions about Cyrus' paternity anyway. Orous was the only one he'd seen since his soul had been destroyed, thus was the only one he remembered. And he didn't have a chance with him, or Maurice. He'd thought of writing to them but that just resulted in seven straight hours of staring at a blank piece of paper, unable to even decide whether to read 'dear' or 'to' or simply 'hello' or one of the million other greetings. He had no idea how to be father to his sons, no matter how badly he craved a relationship with them.

And there was his potential son, Cyrus, who may or may not even be alive and if he was then he was likely a prisoner thousands of miles away. Cyrus was also the reason for not eating his soup, as today was the day Leila had said his birthday was. His son could be turning six today and he hadn't seen him, not once, and he certainly hadn't managed to save him, he might never get the chance to see his child. He found himself incapable of focusing that day on anything other than those depressing thoughts, he had even less idea of what to do for Cyrus then he did for the twins. He just kept thinking of him and Leila, worrying about how they were and what they were doing if they were even still alive. He finally gave up, pushing the bowl aside. He certainly didn't feel like sitting there eating soup, he was distracted momentarily by Wyatt returning.

"What's up, Romeo?" Wyatt asked cheerfully despite the black bags beneath his eyes from the long stakeout he'd just gotten back from, he was just a fountain of optimism though. Roman didn't know how he did it. Wyatt sniffed the air as he approached, "Is that Potato Soup I smell?"

"Knock yourself out," Roman offered, pushing the bowl further across from him.

Wyatt grinned as he sat down opposite, jumping in to devour the soup. Seeing Wyatt made him think of something though, recalling their conversation about going to graves to feel closer to the dead person on Christmas. Cyrus might not have a grave - or if he did then Roman had no idea where it was - but he thought he could go back to that cottage he'd been in when he was injured, it was the closest he had to anything to make him feel close to them. He also thought it had been his parents' home.

"Thanks, m'starved," Wyatt thanked him through a mouthful of soup, it dribbling down from his mouth as he opened it and Roman rolled his eyes.

"You have the worst table manners," Roman complained as he stood to leave, "I'm going for a walk, bye."

Wyatt mumbled something else indistinguishable because of his atrocious table manners but it seemed like a farewell so Roman headed off, the chill of the January wind curling around him as he walked until he was a safe enough distance to apparate. In contrast to the slush from where he'd left, the ground at the cottage had a thick layer of snow for him to trudge through. And then he saw her, Leila sitting on a bench outside the snow-covered cottage, looking rather bedraggled and bundled up against the cold but there was no mistaking her. He approached her slowly, half-sure he was imaging it before she glanced at him with brown eyes radiating warmth that actually made him feel a little less cold.

"How did you know I'd be here?" Leila asked him curiously.

"I didn't," Roman offered quite truthfully, "How did you know I'd be here?"

"I didn't," Leila shrugged as she went back to staring ahead and he wondered if she'd had the same idea as him while he sat down beside her, she made no move to speak and instead sat in silence.

"He's my son, isn't he?" Roman questioned after a while, she glance back to him, "Cyrus, I mean."

"Yes," Leila confirmed simply and despite already knowing, he actually felt like crying and a feeling of despair welled in his gut for the son he'd never known.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to ruin the moment or stress you out while you were injured, I gave you the clues to figure it out on your own or else I would've told you later. I take it you are feeling better?"

"Physically yes, you're not the best at healing."

"I'm not the best at Potions either," Leila pointed out somewhat bitterly as she went back to staring straight ahead, her expression sad and another long silence ensued.

"What's he like?" Roman asked finally and noticed tears starting to form in Leila's eyes, "My son."

"He's pretty smart and sweet, he loves spaghetti. Only kid I know who doesn't like ice cream but he loves music, especially the piano. I promised... I promised him that if he did really well on his lessons then he could have a piano for his next birthday," Leila started to answer but choked on a sob instead, he put his arm around her and she nestled closer to him, "He's blind but he doesn't let that slow him down."

"He's blind?" Roman wondered in surprise and Leila shot him an almost angry look.

"Yes. Why, does that bother you?"

"No, it's just that one's deaf, one's blind, one albino... Makes me rethink whether I should be in the gene pool," Roman explained and Leila gave a weak amused snort, he hung his head sadly, "He sounds like a great kid."

"He is," Leila whispered and rubbed her arm soothingly, "And he's out there all alone if he's alive, it'll be six months the end of this month. Six months of... I don't know, whatever horrible things they could be doing to him. And I still haven't been able to save him, I'm no closer now then I was then."

"Maybe you'd do better if you weren't trying to do it alone," Roman offered and she glanced at him again, "We could help, Varanian is good at figuring things out. You don't have to this alone, Leila, we're in this together. He's my son too and I want to find him just as badly as you do."

"I need to break into Hogwarts," Leila blurted out in answer, taking Roman completely by surprise, "I thought I could sneak in on the train with Polyjuice Potion but it turns out that I suck at making it."

"Okay, okay, why don't you start from the beginning and maybe you're insane plan will sound a little less... insane?"

"I think Voldemort had more than one child. From my knowledge on Ancient Magic and from studying the Scepter, I believe for it to work the way it did for the Shadow Master that they could only have Polyjuiced into someone else who was _also_ a child of Voldemort," Leila explained and Roman was surprised neither his heart nor eyes burst out of him in shock at that rather terrifying theory, it must have shown on her face because she added, "But it's not a bad thing."

"It _sounds_ like a bad thing."

"Rome, think about it. The Scepter responds to the Shadow Master so well because they are descended from Herpo through Voldemort, the Scepter would respond just as well to the second child of Voldemort."

"You think the second child would be able to get the Scepter from the Shadow Master?" Roman deduced and Leila nodded.

"Especially if the Shadow Master is Polyjuicing into the brother at the time, the Scepter will respond to the purest of blood and in that moment it would be the one staying true to who they are. And if he can get the Scepter then he can destroy it, take away the Shadow Master's most powerful weapon," Leila told him, sounding somewhere between excited and hopeful, "Then it should be easier to stand up against him, to stop him, to stop his people and reclaim Greece to save Cyrus."

"It's still kind of a lot and the son might not want to help anyway."

"It's better than nothing."

"Very true," Roman nodded in confirmation as pieces continued to click into his mind, "That's why you wanted to know who the Shadow Master had Polyjuiced into... Wait, that would... that would mean Calderon is Voldemort's son?"

"I believe so, yes," Leila admitted and Roman scowled in worry, "What? What's wrong?"

"It's just... Varanian and Scorpius are kind of friendly with Calderon, I don't think they'd believe or be on board with him possibly being Voldemort's son. Not without proof," Roman explained and her face fell slightly, "But don't worry, I can still help you. Varanian has a supply of Polyjuice for those of us who aren't metamorphmagi yet need to change our appearance, it'll be easy to get some. We can find a way into Hogwarts and speak to Calderon, if he confirms he's Voldemort's son then we can get Varanian involved and try convince Calderon to get along with our plan. And if he isn't then I'll take you to Varanian and we can work on a new plan together."

"Alright. That could work."

* * *

As January neared its end, the snowfall seemed to stop and instead acrid winds became the thing most dreaded when having to brave the elements for Care of Magical Creatures or to get to the greenhouses for Herbology. Scorpius finally felt as if he was getting a grip on his homework and also came to realize that they _really_ needed to get a move on when it came to Quidditch practices, the Ravenclaw versus Slytherin match was the end of February and Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff was only two weeks later. And so, Scorpius made a point to speak to his girlfriend about it in the Common Room that weekend.

"Hey," Scorpius greeted her, it was late and people were mostly gone to bed but she was there by the fire with books sprawled out in front of her and parchment filled with numbers. She looked at him and gave him a smile as he sat beside her, "What are you doing?"

"Finishing up some Arithmancy for Uncle Aubrey," Molly answered with a shrug, her maternal uncle was the Arithmancy professor and was rather insufferable in Scorpius' opinion, "What are you doing?"

"Just got back from doing some more animagi training before bed, I wanted to talk to about something."

"Okay, shoot."

"Well it's just about Quidditch practices, we kind of... need to have some," Scorpius offered lamely, hoping he wasn't sounding pushy but thankfully Molly didn't seem mad and instead sighed.

"I know, I need to work out the training schedule first though and I just... kind of keep putting it off," Molly admitted hesitantly, "I don't really want to and I don't know where to start."

"Well... Where... Where would you usually start?" Scorpius asked cautiously and uncertainly, Molly whipped out a small leather-bound book to look through.

"Usually I look through this to jog my memory, I keep notes after practices and matches on what areas we're strong in as both individuals and as a team then I plan the next several practices to improve on the weaker areas and see where we stand. I tend to have a few practices where its focused more individually then one more as a team to see how we all gel together, toss in some ones focused on teamwork every so often to because it is important we work as one strategic unit not everyone flying in different directions," Molly explained, rambling away confidently with some of her usual enthusiasm and passion for Quidditch shining through. He thought that was a good thing, it was much more like her usual self and decided to try encourage that.

"What areas would you plan for me to work through?"

"Feinting. You're good but sometimes you really are just lucky when it gets down to two of you going at the Snitch together, Orous and Sequoia are both good too. Sequoia's broom is a piece of crap and it's a testament to his skill that he managed to get the Snitch from Orous, he'll squash Slytherin easily. Having Beaters to defend you is fine but considering how fast paced things are with the Quaffle, I'm nervous about risking them just to keep the other Seeker off the Snitch in case of a landslide in the scoring department. It doesn't matter who catches the Snitch if one side is slaughtered on points, which is bad if it's us. However, if you learn to feint it's a good way for you to get the other Seeker distracted without getting anyone else involved. You haven't used it before so it should take them by surprise, especially Orous because he isn't as experienced as Sequoia."

"Right. So there's me done. What about you and the rest?" Scorpius prompted, that was the wrong thing to say though as her face fell and she closed the book.

"Look I don't know, okay? I don't... I don't even know that I want to fly anymore, that I want to play Quidditch, that I even want to be Captain anymore."

"But you love it!" Scorpius protested, shocked at what he was hearing.

"Yeah well, people grow up, Scor, maybe I outgrew liking flying. Maybe I realized there's more to life then silly sport games."

"Or maybe there's more to life then seriousness and stress, you need to relax and enjoy life sometimes too or what's the point really?"

"I'm just going to go to bed, I'm tired," Molly brushed him off and packed up her things, hurrying away and leaving him concerned.

* * *

Jack stepped out of the shadows, the darkness gliding by his body like water rushing of him as he stepped out into the light of the flickering streetlamp overhead. He and One had shadow-travelled so much that he was long since used to it by now, it felt natural, second nature. They were on a street in the dead of night, standing by a red brick building with a faded sign on it. The dull golden letters were so faded that they were barely distinguishable from the dark background, he thought it might supposed to read 'electronics' although the smaller print beneath was too deteriorated to even hazard a guess at. It was over a dark gray door, chipped gray steps leading up it from the side with a handle rail rusted beyond recognition.

"_I don't see the target_," One complained, the Specter through his mouth as they shared a body.

"Give it a minute," Jack insisted.

He pulled out the sheet of crumpled paper from his pocket, smoothing out the list of names and addresses. A list he'd stolen from his Parole Officer's computer, a list of all his Parolee's and where they lived. Of course this was a work address but tonight's target was apparently working late so they'd decide to change up things and visit him, they needed to feed and it may as well be on criminals. It was good, the fact it wasn't a residential area meant people should be home at this late hour so there were less chance of witnesses. He didn't know what the crimes were and he didn't care, criminals were bad. It was better than killing innocent people, in a way he was doing good.

Their head shot up as they door opened, a middle-aged man exiting the building. He was dressed up against the cold, something Jack didn't feel anymore. Although Crystal did, she said his skin was always so cold. This man was middle-aged, his hair a dull gray and stuck up at all angles as if he'd struck by lightning. He was locking up the door, his beady, bleary eyes focused behind spectacles on fumbling with the keys. His aura was white, however not being a murderer didn't mean he was innocent.

"Eric Masterson?" Jack called out questioningly and the man jolted in so much surprise that he nearly dropped his keys, he turned to him.

"Y-Yes that's me," the man confirmed in a tired voice, "We're closed I'm afraid though, you'll have to come back tomorrow."

"_No, I think we can do this now,_" One decided and shoved the paper back into their pocket, approaching Masterson who swallowed nervously.

"Look, I don't have any cash on me if you're planning on robbing me. My partner's the one who handles the money, I just do the repairs."

"_Can you repair a soul?"_

"Wha-"

Masterson never finished his sentence, Jack raised their arm and he immediately fell. His convulsing body stumbled down the steps, screaming in agony and twisting uncontrollably. Jack barely noticed through, he just felt the power surging through his veins, the strength of the pain sating his thirst and invigorating him. Until there was nothing left to destroy, Masterson's soulless corpse crumpled silently now devoid of an aura. Jack lowered his arm and quite calmly withdrew the paper again, this time with a pen to cross off 'Eric Masterson' just as he had his previous victims.

"_I'm glad you're finally on board with this_," One complimented him quite cheerfully as they re-pocketed the pen and paper.

"I'm finally getting a second chance with Crystal and I'm not going to screw it up, I'm not going to let anything screw it up," Jack told the Specter determinedly, "If destroying souls of bad people will shut you up and not make me appear like an absolute nutcase then so be it. My life is finally on track, I have Crystal so now I just need to repair the relationship with my son and get Annie to sober up. Then everyone's safe and happy, I'm capable of protecting them and I can provide for them by stealing any money we need. We can get away with it thanks to magic and our talents. Everything is good right now and I'm going to keep it like that."

"_Well you know what they say_," One offered as they shadow-travelled back through swirling darkness to return home, "_May as well enjoy the good times while they last because they won't last forever_._ Not that I'm complaining_."

"We'll see."

* * *

In light of his conversation with Molly, Scorpius switched his focus on just wanting her to enjoy flying again. The war was important but it was also important that she be happy, flying was something she loved and he'd be damned he was just going to let a Soul Eater take that from her. He was sure if he could just get her into the air again then she'd remember how much she enjoyed it, he even had a plan for that as it was the Valentine's Day Hogsmeade trip the next weekend - even if Valentine's Day was in the middle of the following week - which marked the anniversary of their first kiss. Which had been in the air as they'd been messing around on broomsticks, he was sure he could get her to take to the skies in honor of that important milestone in their relationship. One there, she would surely love it again and enjoy herself. And likely go back to planning Quidditch practices as a secondary good side effect but her happiness came first. In theory it was perfect, in reality...

"I don't really want to go to Hogsmeade," Molly said when he asked her out that weekend, "It just seems like a lot of hassle and I don't really feel like it, I just wanted to stay in Hogwarts and study."

"Well, how about I stay with you then and we do something together here?" Scorpius countered desperately and Molly looked guilty.

"Don't you want to go to Hogsmeade? I don't want you to miss out because of me."

"I don't care about going to Hogsmeade," Scorpius insisted as he sat down beside her, putting his hand on her arm, "I'll have plenty more trips anyway after you graduate but I only have you here now, I want to spend the day with you not with Hogsmeade."

"Well alright, as long as you're sure," Molly agreed, looking slightly better, "I suppose I don't have to study all day and it is our two year anniversary... Sort of."

"Thank you," Scorpius breathed in relief.

That sorted, he could just turn his attention to altering his plans to accommodate them not going to Hogsmeade at all which was perfectly fine and still left his goal attainable. After all, the Quidditch pitch was what was needed not the town. The rest of his friends were in conflicted minds about the weekend, Albus, Maurice, Vern and Orous were all looking forward to treating their girlfriends while Latimer, Rose and Corin were lamenting their loneliness, Michael was planning on not going since he didn't like the town and also wanted to study. And then Abby... Abby surprised him the day before at breakfast.

"I got a date," Abby told him quietly with a smile.

"A date?" Scorpius repeated in puzzlement as she had still seemed to like Albus up until this point, "Did Al suddenly break up with Grozda?"

"No," Abby sighed, looking regretful, "But their relationship isn't showing any sign of going downhill, I can't wait around forever for them to break up. I figure I should at least try to move on, right?"

"I guess," Scorpius shrugged in agreement, taking a bite of his eggs and bacon. He couldn't imagine moving on if Molly wasn't interested in him, he didn't care about other girls and had never even looked at them. It has always been Molly and if she didn't want him then he really wasn't bothered about single.

"This boy asked me out so I figured why not give him a shot?" Abby continued, "He's a prefect too except the year above and he seems nice, I would've said yes anyway to not hurt his feelings. I think it took him a lot to work up the courage to ask me."

"Who is it?"

"Sequoia Pentakel," Abby offered and Scorpius chuckled, "What's so funny?"

"There's only four Quidditch Captains in Hogwarts and between you, me and Al we're dating three of them. Pentakel always seemed pretty decent, I hope you have a good time."

"Thanks," Abby smiled.

* * *

**Part 3: **A Chill in the Air

* * *

_Despite hours of trying and torture, neither of them had been able to successfully cast a spell although they had caused enough random effects of magic to have the Death Eaters accept they were magical. Even if they were useless with a wand. Tommy didn't know what was worse, being hurt or seeing his twin hurt. After that - battered, bruised and still trembling from the after effects of the Cruciatus Curse - they were dragged to a room he would come to call home. The basement, it was massive and bundled with things. There was no bed bench sticking out of the wall though or even a burlap blanket, which was all they really wanted after that ordeal. They were too hurt to even look at the things filling their home, they just collapsed onto the cold, hard stone ground and slept._

_"No!" their mother's shriek woke them later._

_Tommy blinked blearily, thinking it was just her yelling at Sal for tapping the bars or something. When his eyes focused through the blackness though, he saw Sal's bruised face also looking up and recalled painfully the reality since the escape. His aching body also helped remind him of that and his head swiveled instead to the sound of their mother's cackling laughter, apparently amused at whatever she'd been saying no to. She wasn't in the room with them but rather outside the door, he'd guess as much from the sliver of light coming from beneath it and the fact that he couldn't see her. His arm was also still searing from the cuts._

_"We've been in Azkaban for fourteen years," Rodolphus' terrifying voice growled and Tommy shied away further from the steps to the door, if Tommy didn't know any better than he'd have sworn that Rodolphus enjoyed hurting him and Sal. Rodolphus terrified him and he barely knew him. Rodolphus didn't sound angry though this time, rather somewhere between frustrated and desperate, "We're married, I have a right to perform my husbandly duty."_

_"You most certainly do not," their mother's voice scoffed, still sounding amused although she stopped laughing and Rodolphus' next words were timid, almost pathetic._

_"I... I missed you, Bella, didn't you miss me?"_

_"No," their mother said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "I just came down here to tell you that they're to be taught to read and write, I couldn't teach them literacy in Azkaban and I have better things to do for the Dark Lord now. Get to it."_

_Tommy felt his heart sinking as he heard his mother's footsteps receding, he missed her even after what she'd done to his arm. It felt strange to not be around her, shower time was literally the only time he'd ever been apart from her before the escape. He also felt an encroaching dread for Rodolphus teaching them something else, however a heavier set of footsteps followed their mother and he let out a relieved breath._

_"I hate him," Sal announced as they pulled their battered bodies into sitting positions, he shot her a dark look._

_"Maybe he would have been nicer if you hadn't tried to drop a chandelier on his head!" Tommy protested but Sal seemed unremorseful._

_"They were torturing you, Tommy, and it made me mad. Why did you save them? They would've left us alone then."_

_"They would've been hurt then."_

_"So what?! They deserved it after hurting you!" Sal insisted angrily and Tommy opened his mouth to reply before freezing as footsteps seemed to return, drawing closer until the door shot open to reveal Rodolphus and the thin man they'd met in Azkaban who'd introduced himself as Rabastan._

_"They're to be taught to read and write since they couldn't be taught literacy in Azkaban," Rodolphus told his brother in his angry tone again, at least he thought they were brothers. He was sure his mother had said as much, Rabastan wasn't wearing prison robes anymore though, "I have better things to do for the Dark Lord. Get to it."_

_"How am I supposed to do that?" Rabastan wondered incredulously and Rodolphus shrugged, "This was supposed to be your task, wasn't it?"_

_"I said get to it," Rodolphus growled and turned on his heel to leave._

_"No!" Rabastan snapped determinedly although his body trembled as if this was taking a lot of course, Rodolphus returned to him with a murderously dark expression. Rabastan swallowed but held firm, despite continuing to shake as sweat built up on his forehead and even his eyes were darting around his brother's face fearfully, "I-I'm a m-man now, y-you can't just make me do things and p-push me around anymore."_

_"Is that so?" Rodolphus asked calmly and Rabastan nodded with an expression a bit braver, without warning Rodolphus had his wand in hand and turned it onto his brother, "Crucio!"_

_Rabastan tried and failed to withdraw his wand in time to defend himself, the thin stick clattered uselessly to the ground and its own fell beside it. He was screaming just like they had, writhing as if trying to twist his body into a position that would somehow stop the pain and still screaming as tears started to stream from his eyes. There wasn't a fleck of sympathy or remorse in Rodolphus' eyes, they remained unfeeling dark blank slates as he tortured his own brother. Tommy couldn't bear it, his own torture and Sal's was painfully fresh in his mind, he couldn't just watch someone else suffer. It was so horrible, why would people do this?_

_He started to get up to help but Rodolphus picked that moment to let the curse go, Rabastan's already skeletal body crumpled weakly to the ground. Small sobs were still escaping his shaking body as he cried to curl his body protectively into the fetal position, Rodolphus lashed out with his foot to kick his brother while he was down. Rabastan gasped in pain and his body jolted from the force of the kick, Rodolphus kicked him again and again, and then again. Rabastan moved his arms to try protect his body from the blows, instead Rodolphus raised his foot and stomped it down so hard on his brother's face that Tommy saw something white flow from Rabastan's mouth while blood also started to ooze out the side._

_"What were you saying, brother?" Rodolphus asked him in a sneer as he crouched to his brother's level, Rabastan's eyes darted to him in fear but he gave an indistinguishable whimper in reply. Rodolphus spat on his brother's face before standing, "You do as I say. And that goes to the rest of you-" he gestured angrily to Tommy and Sal down the steps as he said this "-I'm the Master here and I'll damn you myself if you forget it!"_

* * *

Saturday came and Scorpius made farewell to most his friends as they headed off to Hogsmeade, in fact Rose and Corin were the only ones going who didn't have dates. Latimer had also decided to stay, not thinking the two moping about being alone would be the best company. He wasn't keen on going to Hogsmeade in the cold weather anyway as it could be taxing for his prosthetic foot or something, he actually seemed to be looking forward to a relaxing day alone and Scorpius had seen him head out of the Common Room with one of his sketchbooks tucked beneath his arm. Michael had retreated back to the dormitory after breakfast which left Scorpius with just his girlfriend and plan to set in motion.

He waited for a bit to allow Molly to do some of her homework and for breakfast to go down since his plan involved a picnic in the Room That Doesn't Exist first, both as it would hopefully take her mind off things anyway and because he thought it was one of those things to ease into not to just drag her outside. She seemed receptive to the idea and he got the food ready he'd pre-arranged with the house-elves, also transfiguring a pair of shoes into a beautiful basket to carry the stuff. He really missed having a competent Transfiguration professor because the subject itself was something he enjoyed, even Florian had been a good teacher apart from being a Shadow and a psychotic murderer. It seemed to be going well, Molly was still quieter than usual as she had been since her father's death but they were smiling and talking as they ate.

"Well that was nice," Molly offered with a smile when they were done before pressing her lips against his.

He kissed her back slowly and lingeringly to savor the moment. They didn't kiss so much since her father's death, if they did it was just a quick peck here and there. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed it until then, he wondered if that made him a bad person. Molly didn't pull away though, quite the contrary as she encircled her arms around him and kissed him back deeply, tenderly, perfectly... In fact, he thought she might even be up for snogging for a while. He couldn't do that though regardless of how tempting it was, he had to stick to his plan because he wouldn't get another chance for it to be their anniversary.

"Come on," he announced, pulling away and jumping up so quickly that she almost fell onto the couch.

"Did I upset you?" Molly asked worriedly.

"No," Scorpius insisted quite truthfully and hated that she had to ask that question in the first place, he bet Orous didn't have that problem with Lily, "I just have more planned."

"Can't we just stay here? Cuddle and kiss? It's been a while..."

"No, come on," Scorpius pleaded and took her hand to lead her away, he almost thought he saw her roll her eyes as they left the Room and headed down the Grand Staircase.

"Scor, you know that just because Albus is always doing romantic things for Grozda, it doesn't mean that _you_ always have to."

"I don't?" Scorpius wondered, unable but help jolting in surprise.

"Of course you don't. So what if he writes her bad poetry? You dropped your Christmas plans to be there for me when my Father died," Molly pointed out assumingly, still surprising him, "I know you care about me and I care about you too, you don't have to try so hard."

"I know that," Scorpius lied defensively and she raised a dubious eyebrow at him, "Well fine,_ maybe_ I think that _sometimes_... But this isn't about that anyway."

"Oh?" Molly said, her turn to look surprised, "Then what is this about?"

"It's about how it's our anniversary and the first time we kissed wasn't in the Room That Doesn't Exist, it was in the air."

"We can't do that."

"Yes, we can. It won't kill us to be up in the air for a minute and there's the sch-"

"No, we _can't_," Molly interjected seriously, "It's against the rules to fly on Hogwarts grounds except for Quidditch practices and matches."

"That's ridiculous," Scorpius scoffed, wondering whether she was desperate enough to lie to get out of flying, "We've done it loads of times, since when was that a thing?"

"Since Rutherford," Molly answered plainly which did make much more sense, "Apparently it's a potential threat to security, it's one of the new rules that we prefects are supposed to enforce. So we can't do it, even if I wanted to. We could just go back to the Room though, make it _look_ cloudy so it feels like the air if you're really that desperate."

"No," Scorpius decided firmly, "I'm not afraid of Rutherford."

"What if we get caught? He could try Legilimency on you-"

"We won't get caught! We won't even be there that long," Scorpius insisted and Molly looked at him dubiously as they reached the bottom of the stairs, "It won't take five minutes to fly up and kiss then fly back, we won't get caught."

"I don't think it's worth the risk."

"Well I do. You're special, our first kiss was special and this is your last year, we'll _never_ have this chance again to go back," Scorpius explained, finding that it was surprisingly truthful and Molly's expression softened.

"Alright but we have to be quick."

Scorpius nodded in understanding and they headed out, the biting wind making him rethink them not putting on cloaks first. He noticed Molly shiver more than once but she insisted on wanting to just get it over with instead of going back, he was starting to worry that his plan was stupid and would fail after all. They reached the pitch though and took out two school brooms, since they had had no practices Scorpius hadn't brought his out to the broom cupboard yet and he didn't know whether Molly had even brought hers - new or old - back to Hogwarts. Molly's expression was stoic as they mounted the brooms and shot up into the air, this was it. They hovered by each other in the chilling air and Molly leaned in to him slightly for a kiss but he pushed his broom forwards and shot away, Molly scowled after him.

"I didn't like that spot, think was closer to the actual place we were the first time," Scorpius lied but Molly decided to go with it, moving over to him and tried to kiss him again. Again he shot away to a different place, "Nope! That's also wrong, here is much better."

"We're supposed to be fast before we get caught!" Molly complained at him as she flew over.

"Then come on, I'm sure this is the right place," Scorpius insisted and she went to kiss him again before he moved away again, she cursed angrily and for the first time he realized that if his plan went badly wrong then he might not even have a girlfriend anymore. The logical thing to do would be to give up, it didn't seem to be working anyway. He should just stop, kiss her and head back. His tongue was faster than his brain though and wasn't listening, "Sorry that was wrong, it was higher like this."

"Fine," Molly muttered but climbed up to him regardless, he didn't even wait for her to reach him this time before speeding across the field, "Scorpius!"

"It was definitely not that side of the pitch!" he called back and she headed over to him, "No, I was wrong again!"

"Scor!" Molly yelled as he darted away from her again.

He didn't bother to answer her as she shot over to him but he moved again, falling into a dive that she followed and didn't stop. He just kept flying, weaving through the air with Molly still chasing after him and saying things that were lost in the wind rushing by his ears. Even on a clunky broom so terrible it shook when it pushed it faster and favored the left for no plausible reason, the feeling of freedom he got from soaring through the sky was something he had also missed. He just hoped Molly could feel it to-

Scorpius yanked the handle of his broom violently to bring the old thing to the required halt as Molly appeared in front of him, shooting up from beneath him to force him to a halt. She was grinning triumphantly, her face pink from the window and her crimson curls unfurling into the wind as if fire was whipping past her head. She was beautiful. She grabbed his broom before he could think of making a dive for it, he decided it was time to concede defeat. If this hadn't made her remember how much she loved flying then nothing else he could think to do today would, he shrugged uncertainly.

"I guess you got me," Scorpius admitted.

"I guess I did," Molly agreed and he leaned in to kiss her, however he heard a rush of air and opened his eyes just in time to a blur as she shot away from him, laughing in delight for the first time since before Christmas, "You're supposed to be a Seeker, catch me then!"

Grinning to himself, Scorpius shot after her and she sped away. Their positions were reversed now, Molly was the one zigzagging left and right, darting around the pitch with practiced ease as he chased after her. He was laughing himself now as they flew, not even caring at the wind whipping their faces and battering their bodies. He did manage to catch her, waiting for her to turn then jolting in the opposite direction so fast his broom thrummed. She came to a halt and he grabbed her broom, he had a smile on his face and so did she as the beautiful sky blue he loved met the clouded gray she loved. Their lips locked simultaneously and they wrapped their arms around each other, the warmth from her body making him forget the wind, forget everything but her.

"HEY!" a familiar and unwelcome voice yelled up at them, they pulled apart in an instant to glance down at Rutherford, "YES! YOU TWO LOVEBIRDS, GET DOWN HERE NOW!"

He exchanged a look with Molly, her expression sheepish rather than afraid of reprisal. They lowered their brooms, landing back beside the furious looking attaché. Scorpius hadn't been lying when he said Rutherford didn't scare him, however he was starting to see that putting himself in risk of being in trouble maybe hadn't been the best idea he'd ever had. Rutherford had them put the school brooms back and return to his office with them before he started on them.

"It's against the school rules to fly on Hogwarts premises! What were you two thinking?!" Rutherford demanding of them furiously, neither made to answer and Rutherford didn't even seem to expect them to as he continued without giving enough time for a reply, "You know what?! I don't even care what you two were thinking! Weasley! As a Prefect fully aware of the rules and a Captain capable of booking the pitch properly, you of all people should know better! And you, Malfoy! Maybe if you weren't such an irresponsible troublemaker then you would've made Prefect in the first place!"

"We're sorry," Molly offered hesitantly.

"I DON'T RECALL GIVING YOU PERMISSION TO SPEAK!" Rutherford raged at her and her mouth clamped shut immediately, he seemed to be trying to reign in his anger though, "Twenty-five points from Gryffindor, each!"

"Does Gryffindor even have that may points?" Scorpius wondered in surprise, Rutherford had taken so many points earlier that it had slaughtered any chance their house had of winning the cup as it had brought them back to zero. Even the other houses had suffered, the hourglasses didn't look as full as they usually did at the beginning of February.

"I said silence!" Rutherford snapped and he joined Molly in shutting up, "Furthermore, this constitutes as a minor offense for both of you. Weasley, this is your first but I remind you that two more equals a major offense and a major offense results in you being stripped of your prefect status. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Sir," Molly nodded in understand and Rutherford glanced back to Scorpius.

"And you, Malfoy, you already had two minor and one major so this brings you up to _two _major offenses. It should do you well to remember that three major offenses results in suspension, possibly even permanently. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Sir," Scorpius confirmed and Rutherford looked between them darkly before nodding.

"Weasley, you can go. Malfoy, stay back for a minute. I'd like to speak to you in private."

"I'll wait for you outside this door," Molly said unnecessarily loudly to him, likely making sure that Rutherford was aware she intended to be there waiting so he wouldn't be able to use Legilimency on him much if at all if he wanted to get away with it. Rutherford eyed her darkly as she left, clearly realizing this too.

"What was it, Sir?" Scorpius asked, mustering the civility he'd been raised on to put on the politest of tones to a man he despised.

"I wanted to point out how foolish you are," Rutherford told him quite bluntly, "The technique you used to shield his mind was invented by none other than the late former Head Auror Enoch Varanian, great-grandfather of your Varanian. Using it only proves your connection to him, he taught you that. You're taking magic lessons from a criminal, a mentally deranged and highly dangerous criminal."

"It proves nothing," Scorpius snapped defensively, "And even if it did, you can't prove it because what you're doing is illegal. What you're doing is wrong, what you're doing is _criminal._ The only mentally deranged and highly dangerous criminal here is yourself!"

"I'm not playing around here, Malfoy!" Rutherford roared, slamming his fist violently down on the table that made all his papers jump and knocked over a photograph. It was of a beautiful woman with long creamy locks flowing in the wind, Rutherford was also in the picture with his arm around her and the pair were smiling happily, "Varanian is a dangerous man whether you believe it or not, he isn't just a threat to the rest of the world but a threat to _you_! You really think when he snaps that'll spare you?! No! Tell me where he is, you're endangering everyone just to protect a monster!"

"A monster?! That's rich coming from you! Chaining up a teenager so tightly you leave scars and convincing him that it's alright, he's been through enough hell without that!" Scorpius yelled at him furiously, filling with rage at the treatment of his best friend, "You're a monster! You're as bad as PAW!"

"Maybe I've got this all wrong then," Rutherford offered thoughtfully, "Maybe you're not the damaged little boy who's so screwed up that Varanian can manipulate you into doing whatever his sick mind wants, maybe you're a psychotic little monster who's on his side. Did you tell him to kill PAW as a favor? Do you have a problem with people who believe different things to you?"

"SHUT UP! And Varanian didn't kill PAW!"

"Is that any way to speak to your elders?" Rutherford sneered and gestured for him to leave as he sat down at his desk, "Be glad I don't punish you for it, you insolent brat. Don't say I haven't tried to warn you."

Scorpius didn't need telling twice, he strode out the door and didn't look back. Molly was true to her word about waiting for him and they headed back to the Gryffindor Tower, anger still pumping through his veins at Rutherford's words. His fists clenched and unclenched several times, he must have looked rather off-putting though as Molly made no attempt to speak to him through the journey. Not until they got back to the Common Room, she looked at him like she was going to say something before just hugging him.

"Thank you," Molly offered, much to his surprise.

"For what?" Scorpius wondered in confusion, evaporating his rage.

"For making me remember who I am," Molly told him as she pulled away, giving him a kiss of farewell with a smile, "And if you'll excuse me, I have some practices to plan."

"I'm glad," Scorpius returned the smile as she left, recalling why Rutherford had been mad at them in the first place. Everything had all taken longer than he'd thought and it was probably near dinner now, he headed back up to his dormitory figuring he might as well wait with Michael, "Hey Michael."

"Hey," Michael greeted him rather cheerfully with a wide grin, he was lying on his bed without any sign of books or parchment that he should have had if he was studying like he'd said. Although, he might have put them away in preparation for dinner or had finished already which might explain the good mood. He sat down on his own bed and Michael sat up on his, moving closer, "S'how'd it go?"

"Good. And we might be having Quidditch practices again."

"Good, flying is _fun_," Michael told him and Scorpius noticed oddly the slightest of slurs to his words, "M'is Rosie back yet?"

"I don't know. Why?"

"Because Scorpius, my old friend-" Michael started to say but was silenced by his own burst of laughter, he clutched his sides as he laughed hysterically at seemingly nothing.

"What's so funny?" Scorpius asked him worriedly, Michael wasn't acting so normal.

"Wh-What's so funny?!" Michael tried to repeated, his face going red as he tried to repress the laughter enough to answer but giggles continued to escape him, "Don't' you get it? I called you my _old_ friend. But-But you're not old at all!"

"That-" Scorpius tried to reply but Michael had already started laughing again, Scorpius scowled. He might expect Albus to laugh at something that stupid - and even then, Albus probably wouldn't find it_ that_ hysterical. Probably - but not Michael, "Are you feeling alright?"

"Me? I'm great," Michael brushed it off as he sobered, wiping a tear from his eye, "Why?"

"You just seem kind of... in a weirdly good mood?"

"So you get fed up with me if I'm in a bad mood but if I'm in a good mood then it's weird? I can't win with you," Michael complained as he folded his arms, "You're a jerk! You get fed up with me if I'm in a bad mood but if I'm in a good mood then it's weird? What is with that? What is with you?"

"You just said the same thing twice!"

"It's called making a point," Michael insisted and Scorpius just stared at him incredulously, his friend seemed to lose his train of thought waiting for a reply as he ran his hands through his hair, "Think Rosie's back yet? I wanna-"

"I can't even believe what happened today!" Albus yelled as he stormed in furiously, his face as red as a Weasley's hair.

"Oh did things not go so well with Grozda?" Scorpius prompted although cared little, Michael's strange behavior was trumping Albus' anger right now.

"What?! No! Things went great and Grozda said she had a fantastic time!" Albus screamed at them, not things Scorpius would ever have thought he'd hear shouted in anger.

"Then what's the problem."

"Abby! Abby's the problem! She-she was on a _date_," Albus informed them, practically spitting out the last word as if it was something that disgusted him, "I mean, what the hell!? Why is she on a date?!"

"Maybe she's lonely. Or just horny," Michael offered unhelpfully.

"What's wrong with her being on a date?" Scorpius wondered, surprised at Albus' reaction.

"What's wrong with it?! _What's wrong with it?!_ EVERYTHING!" Albus raged at them, throwing his arms up in the air, "Where does that sick perverted piece of crap think he's doing dating Abby?! She's a year younger than him!"

"You're a year younger than Grozda too, besides he always seemed quite nice to me."

"I turned sixteen already in October! Abby's just fifteen! She's just a little kid! At least Lily is dating someone trustworthy, Abby is dating a random stranger! That git is taking advantage of her! He's probably of age already! Wait until I tell Neville!"

"No, come on, don't do that," Scorpius insisted, jumping up and stepping in front of Albus as he went to leave, he still didn't understand where the anger was coming from but he was quite sure talking to the professor would go badly, "At least don't speak to him when you're angry like this, it was just one date. Maybe she won't go out with him again anyway, plus we have bigger problems."

"Bigger problems?! What bigger problems are then some slimy git putting his hands on one of my best friends!" Albus screamed furiously.

"Michael..." Scorpius started to say but trailed off since Michael was very much there and within earshot, he glanced at his friend and Michael scowled. It took some of wind from Albus' sails though.

"What's up with Michael?"

"Nothing," Michael stated crossly as he folded his arms, giving Scorpius a dirty look, "I'm in a good mood so Scorpius thinks it's weird and that there's something wrong with me."

"That's not weird," Albus complained and threw Scorpius a dirty look as well, "Geez, do you want your friends to be miserable?"

"Of course not!" Scorpius protested, wondering when he had become the bad guy in this situation, "Just speak to him for five minutes."

"Nah, go see Nevlyville. I'm gonna go to bed, I'm feel like tired now," Michael offered and lay back down, closing the drapes behind him.

* * *

**Part 4: **Snakes and Eagles

* * *

Scorpius did manage to convince Albus not to speak to Professor Longbottom, instead he went to speak to Abby who apparently shut him up with the same words Lily had used which left Albus grumbling in frustration. It was after dinner by the time he'd calmed down enough to listen to his concerns about Michael - who hadn't been at dinner either - but Michael was fast asleep in the dormitory. The next day Michael seemed back to his usual self, a pounding migraine to boot and still annoyed Scorpius was bothered by his good mood. Unfortunately, his other friends also thought he was reading too much into it.

"So what if he was happy? It's not a crime," Abby insisted at breakfast, "He was probably just glad to get a load of work down and to not have a migraine, he's been getting them a lot more than usual lately."

"He has?" Scorpius wondered in surprise, scowling as she nodded while chewing on some toast, "I hadn't noticed that."

"Well you were too busy focusing on Molly, you have kind of a one-track mind sometimes. It's like you're so focused on one part of a picture that you don't realize there's more to it or that there's other things happening until you step back."

"I do not," Scorpius scoffed determinedly and Abby gave a shrug as she took a bite of her hash browns to go with the toast, apparently not bothered enough by his disagreement to argue. He sighed and rested his face on his hand, idly pushing his food round his plate.

"So_ now_ can I finish telling you about my date?" Abby asked and Scorpius gestured for her to go on, she smiled happily, "Sequoia was a real gentleman, he's so polite and-"

"Can I have everyone's attention?!" Rutherford announced in a booming voice and Scorpius' eyes shot to him darkly, he hadn't forgotten yesterday. Abby grumbled under breath about having her account interrupted again while Rutherford paced as he spoke, almost as if he had trouble keeping still, "Now, I know many of you were not happy with the seating plan-"

"Are you going to take it back?" Knight blurted out eagerly, Scorpius had forgotten his first name and Rutherford threw him a dark look.

"No. And take twenty points from Slytherin from that interruption," Rutherford chided him and several of the Slytherins threw a sheepish Knight filthy looks before the attaché continued, "I still do not feel this is secure enough due to the lax length of meals mean that. So as of next week, meal times will be strictly an hour even on weekends. Starting at eight, twelve and seven for exactly one hour so I suggest you make sure you are there for those times if you do not wish to go without. That is all, enjoy the rest of your weekend."

Scorpius vaguely recalled Maurice mentioning something about regimented meal times, it seemed he'd been proven right. It would turn out to be quite tedious, having to wait outside the Great Hall if you arrived earlier for breakfast or accidentally missing the start of dinner from trying to get something done in the Library. If you weren't finished when the allocated hour was up, your food vanished regardless and you were forced to leave, it was rather annoying. Rutherford's meal times weren't the only thing new starting next week though, Molly had been true to her word and practices were back with a vengeance. Every single day without fail there was a Quidditch practice, the rigorous schedule trying to make up for the lack so much so that the same people complaining of no sessions were now complaining about too many. She took full advantage of the new meal times and had no qualms with getting them up early to practice beforehand. Surprisingly, Michael took issue with this. His game was sluggish and off in many of the morning sessions, often complaining it made him dizzy to be flying so early and more than once it caused him to throw up.

At first Scorpius just thought it was because it was the full moon that week but it continued after it had passed, Michael fervently rejected suggestions of seeing Marigold about it or about his headaches. Abby wasn't wrong about that it seemed, Michael had suffered headaches since Second Year but he seemed to have one every other day or so now and almost always in the morning. On those days, Michael went from being the one up first to the one having to be begrudgingly dragged out of bed. Scorpius also noticed that despite seemingly so focused on studying, Michael actually seemed to be doing _worse_ than usual. Where he usually got E's, Scorpius saw him hastily shoving returned assignments with A's and P's into his bag. With classwork, he didn't do well any day with a headache for at least the morning and his spell work seemed to be suffering. Michael never had been the best with spells but he was failing completely at Transfiguration, struggling half the time in Charms and barely scraping through with Defense Against the Dark Arts. Even his Patronus conjuring was suffering, he could only just summon one faint lion let alone the three speaking ones from before.

Scorpius was worried about him, Michael insisted he was fine if a little stressed about OWLs. He thought it was more than 'a little' considering how badly he was doing, Michael still rejected help though and preferred to work alone in the dormitory. It was a tough enough workload for them let alone Michael, who had the most subjects - along with Maurice now - and suffered from Dyslexia on top of missing days due to his lycanthropy. Scorpius was worried that it was finally getting to him and had no idea how to help him, of course that still didn't explain his weird behavior after Hogsmeade which he refused to accept was normal. Especially with Quidditch practices on top of that and still being taught Occlumency by Maurice, Scorpius found his days hectic enough as it was. In fact, Scorpius was still making sure to practice his animagi training every night no matter how late or exhausted it made him. He was actually doing better - he thought - as the changes were starting to get more drastic, he'd grown claws a few times, horns, fur and one even a tail that had taken him over an hour to manage to reverse. He thought Transfiguration was harder to do on yourself and wished - not for the first time - that he had a competent Transfiguration professor to discuss it with, even without total honesty.

And then there was his other friends, the encroaching exams seemed to be getting to them as well. Rose had finally shut up complaining about Lenore and had started tutoring Corin, their stress apparently rubbing off on the studious boy or maybe it was the lack of Maurice. Oddly though, the pair always did their sessions in private rather than in the Library or Common Room - after the Library closed when they still had work to do - like the rest of them. Albus had become the new Rose, constantly criticizing Sequoia Pentakel behind Abby's back - and sometimes in front of - as if he'd convinced himself that Pentakel was the worst person in the world. Pentakel was also quite the romantic - Scorpius swore he had to be the only person in the world who wasn't - and often surprised her with a variety of different flowers, which only infuriated Albus even more. In turn, Abby had taken to complaining rather uncharacteristically about Grozda when he started on Pentakel which just ended up with them bickering over whose romantic interest was better. This only intensified in the week leading up to the Ravenclaw versus Slytherin Quidditch match, captained by Pentakel and Grozda respectively.

"Pentakel's going to lose," Albus told Abby confidently as they sat in the stands, waiting for the match to start, "Why don't you just admit he's a loser?"

"Please," Abby scoffed incredulously, "How can you call him a loser when Seq _won_ his last match? Unlike Krum."

"Well that's different, Grozzie was against us. All Pentakel had to do was beat Hufflepuff."

"Hey!" the Hufflepuffs nearby protested, Orous and Vern were sitting with them of course and so was Rose's younger Hufflepuff brother Hugo as several of the Third Years had joined them along with the Notts and Lenore.

"I think Hufflepuff's tough to beat, Pentakel's victory is valid," Abby insisted, earning approving nods from the Hufflepuffs, "Ravenclaw's going to win, Slytherin's Seeker sucks."

"Does not!" Albus protested defensively.

"Does too."

"Does not."

"Does too."

"Does not."

"Does too," Olivia spoke up and they glanced at the Slytherin in surprise, "I love my house and want us to win but... yeah, the Seeker sucks compared to the other houses' Seekers from what I've seen."

"The Seeker is the weakest of the Slytherin team," Molly nodded in agreement, "It's a letdown because the rest of the team is pretty good."

"Well there's more to a match then who has the best Seeker," Albus pointed out defensively although it was quite a truthful statement, "If Slytherin slaughters Ravenclaw on points then it won't matter if Pentakel catches the Snitch, they'll still lose. And as I recall, Ravenclaw's Keeper sucks."

"I guess we'll just have to see which strategy pays off," Abby said curtly as the players walked onto the field, the Captains shaking hands obliviously to their dates' issues.

It turned out to be another tense match, both teams were right on the ball despite the icy wind battering them. Both sets of Chasers were good, strong trios that were quite in sync although he thought Slytherin had the edge because Grozda was superb and outflew probably everyone else there. Both sets of Beaters were also excellent, Slytherin's seemed to have a slight edge on more strength but Ravenclaw's seemed to have a slight edge on more accuracy so it evened out. Then there were the Seekers and Keepers, Pentakel's sharp blue eyes darted with practiced ease while the Slytherin Seeker seemed more as if they were waiting for the Snitch to come to them although they were moving around at least. Slytherin's Keeper was skilled, fiercely defending the rings while Ravenclaw's was mediocre. Not bad, just not great against players as talented as Grozda's Chasers. Grozda probably had the overall better team but Pentakel... he had a way of thinking outside the pitch.

"YES!" Albus screamed in delight as Grozda scored the first goal of the match, jumping up so fast to punch the air that he nearly knocked the people closest to him over, "YES! YES! GO GROZZIE! THAT'S MY GIRL!"

"Still a lot of Quidditch left to play," Abby complained testily as Albus sat back down, his face still split by a grin.

"Oh please, suck it. My girl's got this, Ravenclaw is going down."

For a while, it actually certainly seemed to go that way and after an hour and a half in, Slytherin was winning by more than a hundred points. They were managing to try to score fairly evenly with decent to fantastic shots, however this was where the difference in Keepers became noticeable. While Slytherin's managed to stop most of the shots, Ravenclaw managed to stop much less of the shots and they tore through the rings like paper. Pentakel was the only Seeker who'd seen and dived for the Snitch, however the unrelenting assault of Bludgers had forced him off it. Even when his own Beaters managed to counter them, the Beaters simply flew _at_ him so Pentakel had to avoid them or get hit. Scorpius thought this might be construed as blocking but the referee didn't agree apparently. By which time, he'd have lost the Snitch. The Slytherin Seeker would dive after him but seemed to lose sight of it due to the commotion of stopping Pentakel - even when Scorpius could still clearly see where it was - without needing to be stopped.

Pentakel seemed to realize having his Beaters bother with the Seeker was unnecessary and instead had them focus solely on the Quaffle action, having them help out his struggling Keeper while Grozda had hers mostly stalking Pentakel. This seemed to bring the match to more of a standstill but Slytherin were still in the lead, 160 to 30 so they needed only a few more goals for it to not matter if Pentakel caught the Snitch. Ravenclaw weren't beaten yet though and Pentakel soon plummeted into another dive, a rather odd one though as he wasn't diving at the glimmer of gold Scorpius saw which implied a feint but if it was a feint then why was he doing it in the vicinity of the Snitch? Why do one at all considering the Slytherin Seeker wasn't a threat? And then Scorpius realized why, the Slytherin Beaters knocked Bludgers towards where Pentakel was going and avoiding them put him right in the path of the actual Snitch. Pentakel plucked it from the air while the Slytherins were still realizing their mistake, winning the match.

"RAVENCLAW WINS! 180 to 160!" the female commentator's voice echoed over the roar of the wind.

"YES!" Abby screamed, jumping up and down happily while Albus simply pouted, "GO SEQUOIA! YES! YES! SUCK IT, AL!"

"Hooray, Ravenclaw!" August Longbottom added, jumping up as well with a smile on his face at his house's victory and shared a high five with his sister. Albus snorted unhappily and folded his arms sulkily, glaring at the scarred Ravenclaw Captain all the while.

The defeat put Albus in a foul mood but it did seem to have silenced him on Sequoia, he'd taken instead to glaring murderously at the older boy whenever he was within sight and giving dark looks to anyone who mentioned him. Abby didn't let that bother her though and in fact seemed to prefer it to Albus constantly badmouthing him, the most Albus would do now would grumble under his breath. Scorpius also thought it was a more productive study environment since Rose seemed to have finally shut up about Lenore, although she would still give the girl dirty looks. With everything seeming more stable with his friends, Scorpius could focus more on the burden of OWL work, the upcoming match and worrying about Michael. His friend was continuing to struggle and resisting any offer of help from Scorpius, he supposed the intense practices weren't helping. While he was glad that Molly was back to loving Quidditch and training them, he hoped the amount of sessions would decrease after the match to hopefully give Michael a chance to get back on top of his work. The final match against Ravenclaw wouldn't be until after Easter anyway and he was sure starting practices again had to be what set Michael off, keeping busy was making the week fly by though.

"Hey Potter!" a voice called out randomly as they left Defense Against the Dark Arts on Monday the week of the their match against Hufflepuff, they - minus the deaf Maurice who hadn't noticed and walked on without them unknowingly - turned to see Knight darting over to them. He ran a hand through his short dark hair nervously although he had a smile on his face, walking by them and launching into a speech at ninety miles an hour, "Pretty neat lesson, eh? Of course all of Ashain's lessons are pretty neat, this is my favorite class. It's just so exciting, don't you think? It must be exciting for you considering who your Dad is and what family you come from after all, right Pott- Can I call you Albus?"

"What do you want?" Albus asked of him instead and Knight looked taken aback, Maurice returned to them irritably and muttered something about them ditching him as his hand went to his translator necklace.

"What? Albus, you are quite mistaken. I just wanted to get to know you better, you seem like a pretty standup guy and all. And I wanted to let you know that I'm not one of those people badmouthing your Dad-"

"Wait, what? What people badmouthing my Dad?" Albus interrupted worriedly and Knight looked surprised.

"Didn't you know?" Maurice pointed out as if it was obvious, when Albus stared at him blankly he rolled his eyes, "You people should read the papers, people are mad at him for not stopping the Shadow Master yet."

"Yes but it's quite ridiculous really," Knight spoke up, eager to be back in the conversation, he sounded sincere though, "It's like they forget all the good he's done, forget that he stopped old moldy Voldy. Honestly the public is so fickle, wouldn't you say, Alb- Can I call you Al? I've heard your friends call you Al."

"You're not my friend," Albus pointed out irritably but Knight seemed undeterred, "I don't even know you and quite frankly I'm starving so would you either go away or get to the point?"

"Fine, Al," Knight agreed, dropping his cheerful charade and becoming more serious. He reached into his book back and withdrew a smaller white sack that clinked, that and the shapes sticking out in the bag implied it was filled with coins, "I can't prove it and if I stand up to James then I get my ass beat by him and his bodyguards but I _know_ he's bullying my little brother-"

"Isn't this something you should be telling a teacher?" Rose complained snippily, apparently also hungry.

"I have and they want proof!" Knight burst out, pain evident in his eyes at being unable to help his brother, "Byron's too scared to tell _me_, let alone one of them. He's too scared to sleep, he's too scared to eat, he looks like the walking dead and spent the entire break _begging_ our grandparents to the point of tears to not go back. This from a kid who spent his whole life before Hogwarts desperate to go to Hogwarts and your brother ruined that for him, I haven't seen him smile in months. He's so unhappy... he's already lost our Mum and Dad, his legs too. He can't handle this."

"James_ has_ been good."

"He hasn't been good, he's just started singling out my brother instead of people who can fight back or tell on him," Knight spat and turned back to Albus with the bag of money, "This is all the money I have been able to save up, it's yours if you'll get your brother off Byron's back."

"Look, I can't help you," Albus pointed out with a shake of his head and Knight's face fell, "My brother and I are on bad terms, until he apologizes for the things he said about a friend of mine I'm not talking to him and he's not listening to me. Not that he ever really listened to me. I'm sorry, I couldn't help you even if I wanted to."

"It's alright, was worth a shot," Knight muttered with an expression that clearly suggested exactly the opposite, he shoved the coin stash back into his bag and stalked off without another word.

* * *

Brutus Hephaestus Ashain cradled his little boy lovingly in his arms, finding it hard to believe the twins would be nine months old tomorrow. Then again, he also found it hard to believe he'd turned fifty in January as in truth he was still as strong as a man half his age. He wasn't sure whether to attribute that to being descended from Ashylos or his Ashain heritage, being magical or being deformed. He was glad the twins hadn't inherited his grotesque appearance, not because he would love them any less - unlike a certain filthy mudblood who had thrown him away like trash within hours of his birth - but just that they be spared the torture of going through life with disgusted looks aimed their way. They had enough going against them as the grandchildren of Voldemort as it was.

For the sons of the Shadow Master and one of her Lieutenants, their souls were as pure and white as any newborns. They were just like normal children, smiling and laughing, playing and crawling, crying of course... they were just innocent, oblivious to the fact they were in the heart of a land ravaged by their mother and her armies. They didn't understand that though, they barely understood anything. Regardless of what they'd done, how many lives they'd taken, how many more destroyed, how many homes ruined and how much pain they'd inflicted. The babies would still smile when they saw either of their parents, reaching out with both arms for a cuddle. Brutus often wondered what they'd do if they did understand like they would when they were older, would they turn away in disgust or would they cheer them on? He wasn't sure which was worse.

He was so grateful for them, he wasn't sure he could cope with the devastation they were inflicting otherwise. He knew it was for the best, he knew things would improve - and they were - as their control stabilized but he still struggled with it. They had a sizeable army of Inferi, on paper that was great but to think all those thousands of creatures had been people once made him sick even small bodies that had once been children. Thousands of lives they'd taken, that his lover had taken. It weighed heavily on his soul, no matter what he told himself or what anyone else did. He was plagued by recurring dreams of himself stained in the blood of his victims, picking up his children with bloodies hands and seeing the horror twist on their little faces, looking at him like he was a monster. Which he was really, no amount of justification for his actions changed that fact about him. Was it an incredibly selfish or selfless thing they were doing to reshape the world?

"Dada!" the second twin cried from his crib as he'd woken up, sitting up with a smile on his little chubby cheeks as he grasped the air above him indicating he also desired to be held.

Brutus smiled and felt a tear prick his eye as it always did since they'd started recognizing him as their father, he scooped up his younger son and held them one in each arm as he carried them from the nursery. The youngest had a head of hair as black as night like Sal, the elder had extremely dark auburn hair like him as was typical for Ashains. Of course, they were technically Riddles as Sal preferred her own last name. He took them down the marble floored corridor and spiraling staircase to reach the parlor type area where Rabastan waited with his own son, Vathan, and a stack of presents to commemorate the boy's fourth birthday. It was a large spacious room, the comfortable couches actually looked quite lonely on the white marble floor with its dark decorative pattern. There was a huge window overlooking the city - Athens - but Brutus didn't want to look.

"Brutus! You're is back!" Vathan called to him happily, the birthday boy bouncing over to him excitedly and Brutus returned his smile while the babies offered incomprehensive greetings. Vathan lost his smile though as he saw him, "Brutus, are you crying? Why do you cry, Brutus?"

"Oh, it's just because my son called me 'Dada,'" Brutus brushed it off and hoisted one of the twins to wipe the lone tear from his eye.

"Well you _are_ their Daddy. What else would they call you, silly?" Vathan giggled in response, obviously not understanding but then Brutus didn't expect him too.

"Well come on now, we're all here. Do you want to open your presents of not?" Rabastan asked his son playfully, knowing full well the answer and Vathan raced back over to him with Brutus following.

Brutus thought Rabastan was one of those people who aged better as they got older, the iron gray locks falling either side of his face suited him and he looked distinguished instead of the weedy, nervous-looking man he'd been when Brutus had first known him. He was still thin though, he just naturally seemed to be thin. Vathan's hair was as dark as his father's had once been but with a slight wave to it like his mother, the resemblance to his father was clear in the shape of his face although he had the softness of youth or possibly from his mother's gentle features. His eyes were an uncommon mossy green and on his visible hands were overlapping scars of words or letters or numbers to varying sizes, scarred by a blood quill they used at the Training Tower. Vathan was unconcerned by this however and eager to get to his gifts.

Vathan settled down by his father and Brutus sat opposite with the twins, he was quite fond of the boy and considered Rabastan a friend, the former Death Eater had always been good to him. Vathan made a start on his gifts, earning a new set of crayons, a stuffed gazelle toy - it was his father's Patronus - and a slab of chocolate that he kindly shared with them. Brutus allowed the twins to try a piece and they both gobbled it down, clearly chocolate was a hit and so was letting them tear discarded wrapping paper. And then he got to the more special presents, the broom that Brutus had gotten for him - Vathan begged to learn to fly - and finally his very own wand. Sal had decided to drop the practical mage age to four now they in control of Greece and were capable of getting wands for the children, Rabastan had had it custom made for his son after having him measured.

"My very own wand!" Vathan squealed happily, flinging his arms around his father happily, "Thank Daddy!"

"You're very welcome," Rabastan assured him, hugging his son tightly back and smiling at Vathan's joy, "Happy Birthday."

"Now I can be a better soldier and fighter the other guys, with magic," Vathan told him as be pulled away while Rabastan laughed.

"You're not a soldier, the war will be over long before you're old enough to fight."

"Then why is we learning?" Vathan wondered in confusion, clutching the wand awkwardly. Brutus thought it looked too big for the small child's hands.

"Just in case, it's useful to know these things," Rabastan shrugged and gave his son a warm smile, "But don't worry, it will be over before then. And things will be great when it's over, we can live in a nice house and you can have anything you want."

"Can Oathan be there?" Vathan asked curiously, speaking of his younger maternal half-brother which was always a sore spot for Rabastan since he had been cheated on, "Since he couldn'ter be here now."

"I told you, Oathan's not my son like you are and I can't just take him out because it's your birthday."

"Did you know on his birthday, all he got was from Mummy. She gave him another scar," Vathan said sadly and Brutus gave a grunt of disapproval, he'd never liked that bitch, "Doesn't Mummy loved us? Why'd is she not here for my birthday?"

"Mummy is in a lot of trouble, she can't be here," Rabastan explained, which was true.

"Why is she in trouble?"

"She attacked Hogwarts when she wasn't supposed to."

"And that's bad?"

"We're staying away from England," Brutus tried to explain, "That way they won't be prepared when we attack them because they think we won't attack, if she attacks then it ruins the element of surprise."

"Strategying. We learneded in school," Vathan pointed out, looking somewhere between thoughtful and curious, "Which country will we is be attacking? After the master is ready to get more then Greece anyway."

"England," Brutus and Rabastan said in unison.

* * *

**Part 5: **To Stand and Fall

* * *

Byron Knight lay curled up fully dressed on his bed, his body aching from the assortment of bruises James Potter had given him and his eyes stinging from having not slept much if at all last night. It wasn't night though, it was morning. Things had only gotten worse since Rutherford had put in place his new strict meal times, it was so limiting that it was even easier for James to get to him. He'd stopped going now, he'd skipped breakfast before but now he also skipped dinner. Lunch was the only meal he'd eat and even then, he didn't always go. He lost it anyway, he was physically sick from anxiety in the mornings as he tried to work up the courage to get up and face the world. To face James.

He couldn't even sleep at night for dread either. His eyes felt raw as if they'd been taken out and dipped in burning sand, his stomach was filled only with knots, his body consisted of battered skin hanging off bones and his mind... his mind was just tired. He couldn't take it anymore, it only got harder to brave the world outside of the closed drapes of the four poster bed in his Slytherin dormitory. As evidence of that, he was supposed to be in Charms. That was what he had first thing on Thursday, not even knowing he would see his best - and only - friend in the class had given him the strength to leave especially since Grant despised Slytherins including him. Unlike him, Pol was a Ravenclaw and they only had Herbology, Charms and Astronomy together. He had hoped next year they'd have more classes together with electives, Pol encouraged him it would be better and that it would be the very last year he had to deal with James. But the hope was in the past now, Byron didn't think he could survive that long.

"Hey," a familiar voice greeted him and Byron almost leaped off his bed in shock as the drapes were pulled by Pollux Koray who flashes him a smile with pearly white teeth. Byron didn't remember the last time he'd bothered to brush his and it had been a while since he'd washed too, if he looked in a mirror then he thought his hair would probably be grimy and his teeth yellow. Something else also occurred to him, Pol was _here_.

"What are you doing here?" Byron wondered in surprise as he sat up in confusion.

"You missed Charms, I was worried about you," Pol admitted, his expression switching to one of concern.

"No, I mean this is the _Slytherin_ dormitory. How did you get in here?"

"Oh, right. Yeah, I just asked my Dad for the password," Pol brushed it off, his father was the Astronomy professor, "Teachers know the passwords to all the dormitories, of course they're not supposed to tell students so just don't tell anyone."

"Right," Byron nodded as his mystery was solved, lying back down.

"How bad has he hurt you this time?" Pol asked as he sat down beside him, Byron felt rather than saw it as his heavy lids slid over gritty eyes.

"No one hurt me," Byron said the lie he had told a thousand times, for the thousandth time Pol didn't believe him.

"You weren't exactly in the Hospital Wing all those times for having a cold."

"It doesn't matter, what he did had nothing to do with why I missed Charms."

"They why?" Pol questioned and Byron felt a lie on his tongue but it didn't leave his quivering lips, he was too tired of denying it, too tired of living this.

"Because..." Byron started as he sat back up, his voice cracking and tears filling his eyes to make them sting worse, "It's not what he's done, it's what he _will_ do. Every single day, Pol, every single day he goes after me and torments me. I'm sick with dread and fear wondering if he'll be waiting for me when I leave the Common Room, what corner he's hiding behind waiting for me and what... what painful, humiliating horrible things is he's going to do to me today. And I just can't. I just couldn't bring myself to go out there today and fact it all, I just can't."

"Byron-" Pol started to say but Byron couldn't hear him over the sound of his own sobs, tears escaped his eyes and he buried his face into his hands. He felt Pol put his arms around him uncertainly and buried his face into his friend's shoulder to cry, half-expecting him to pull away and tell him he was pathetic like his grandparents did when he cried but Pol didn't.

"I can't do it anymore, Pol! I can't," Byron sniffed, trying to stop the torrent of shameful tears, "You know I used to wonder why Mum could just kill herself and leave us here all alone, how she could want to die especially when she had me and Kenelm. But now I get it, death is better than life."

"Byron!"

"It's true!" Byron shot back as he pulled away, seeing shock mixed with horror on Pol's face, "If I was dead then James couldn't hurt me anymore, I could be with my Mum and Dad again, I could be whole again and happy..."

"But you'd be dead!" Pol protested and seemed to try to calm himself, "Death is forever, James is only here for another year. Things will get better in the future-"

"I don't care about the future! I care about now," Byron wailed hopelessly and Pol's expression became serious.

"Then you _have_ to tell someone, you can't go on like this."

"No! He's Harry Potter's _son_, don't you get it? The son of The Boy Who Lived, the son of one of the greatest wizarding heroes. Who are they going to believe? The hero's son or the orphan with half a body?" Byron pointed out bitterly while Pol watched him expressionlessly, "And then things will just be worse. Do you know what he would do to me if he knew I tried to tell?"

"Lots of people would believe you," Pol insisted seriously, "Look, my Mum works in the Law Department in the Ministry, in fact she just got promoted to Deputy Head after the old guy retired at Christmas."

"You've mentioned that once or twice," Byron offered truthfully, Pol was very proud of his mother.

"And I talked to her-"

"You told her?!" Byron burst out, feeling rather betrayed and Pol looked almost annoyed.

"I never mentioned you by name, it was more general," Pol pointed out sounding sincere, "She says what really matters in the law is evidence, people can lie so proof is more solid and can set the truth from the lies. Rutherford is from the Law Department, Mum says she's worked with him and he isn't the most likeable person in existence_ but_ he is pretty fair and takes things very seriously. He's not going to ignore evidence just because of who James' Dad is."

"This is Hogwarts not the Wizengamot."

"Which is even better because we only have to convince Rutherford and we have evidence, Marigold knows you've been to the Hospital Wing, you probably have bruises now and you have this journal," Pol said, sounding almost excited and holding up the small leather-bound book that was Byron's journal.

"Where did you get that?!" Byron exclaimed and snatched it back, upset that his friend would read his private thoughts behind his back.

"It was on your bedside table," Pol shrugged it off, "I just skimmed it to make sure you'd mentioned James' bullying before speaking to you. Byron, we can stop him. You just have to tell someone."

"No," Byron whimpered, clutching his journal in fear and fresh tears brewed in his eyes as he imagined James in a rage at him for trying to get help, "I can't. I don't want to risk it. I'm too scared of him."

"I'll be right there with you," Pol assured him, "We can go to my Dad, he's not really doing anything right now since its day and all. I_ know_ my Dad will believe us, he can get Rutherford to and get James to leave you alone. You just have to be a little brave."

"I'm a _Slytherin_," Byron pointed out icily as he recalled the amount of times James had beat - very literally - it into him that it made him a worthless cowards, "We're not exactly known for our bravery."

"Being a Slytherin doesn't make you a coward, my Mum is a Slytherin," Pol stated as if his Mum being a Slytherin obviously automatically undid the years of bad reputation, "And you're certainly not a coward. Didn't you incur James' wrath from standing _up _to him?"

"That was so long ago, I feel like I was a whole other person," Byron admitted sadly, the tears sliding from his eyes as he thought of what he used to be like.

"Well you don't have to make up your mind right now, okay?" Pol offered gently, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder, "Astronomy isn't until late tonight so there's plenty of time to change your mind and talk to my Dad. Will you at least think about it?"

"Okay," Byron lied, he had no intention of throwing his life into a deeper circle of hell but it would hopefully shut Pol up. It seemed to as Pol gave him an encouraging smile as he wiped his eyes, "So I guess break's probably over by now?"

"Probably, or at least it's close to it,"

"You should probably be getting to your next class."

"Probably," Pol said again and looked uncomfortable, "But I don't really want to go and leave you here alone, blowing off one Second Year class won't kill me. Transfiguration sucks anyway, Midas never lets you have enough practice at the spell to get it."

"History of Magic isn't fun either," Byron pointed out with a sigh, that was the class he should be in next and the one he thought he should go to. It seemed unfair Pol should miss a class and get in trouble just because he'd been bawling like a baby, "Maybe Binns will bore me to sleep though and I can get some rest, we should probably just go to class."

"Are you sure?" Pol wondered in surprise, "Because I really don't mind."

"I'm sure. Besides, you probably don't want to be here when the other Slytherins come back," Byron stated quite truthfully, he didn't think it likely they'd want a Ravenclaw in their Dungeons. Plus was feeling slightly better for having talked to Pol. Slightly.

"True," Pol laughed as he stood, "I do feel rather out of place here. Do you want to get cleaned up first though?"

"Sure."

Byron went out to the bathroom to wash his face, a look in the mirror confirming the suspected frightful appearance of yellow teeth and unkempt, filthy long brown hair. His clothes were disheveled too from having been curled up on bed, his brown eyes blotchy and red from crying. He tried to care but couldn't muster the feeling. In contrast, Pol looked immaculate with his neatly cropped clean hair and perfectly aligned uniform, the damp patch on the shoulder the only blemish and that was from Byron crying on him. Byron just splashed some water to rid his face of tear stains and to try wake himself up a bit before rejoining Pol and stashed his journal back under his pillow before they left the dungeons, following the deserted corridors that seemed to confirm they were late and finally reaching the Grand Staircase. They started to climb up, not thinking as they were still comparing whether Transfiguration or History of Magic was worse.

"Wait, Transfiguration isn't on this floor," Byron realized as they reached the floor for History of Magic.

"I thought I'd walk you and make sure you got there okay," Pol pointed out, looking concerned again and Byron suddenly regretted breaking down in front of him. He didn't want to be treated like a baby.

"I'll be fine, don't make yourself even later," Byron insisted and Pol reluctantly started to climb back down the stairs as he turned into the corridor, a hand shot out from the darkness and Byron's spirits plummeted back to the dungeons. He knew who the hand belonged too without needing to look or hear that chilling voice.

"Hey Slytherin, did you really think you could get away from me today?" James Potter spat and Byron turned to face the cruel smirk on his freckled face.

* * *

The best thing about Thursdays for James was that he didn't have any classes until after lunch, it made it easy to get to the Slytherin. Especially since he'd threatened another Second Year Slytherin into giving him the class schedule so he knew where the Slytherin would be, his friends had classes but he could still beat him up alone. He'd been having a good week, eager to play against his cousin and crush Hufflepuff in the match on Saturday. He thought he was pretty much carrying the team, especially since Molly had really dropped the ball when it came to practices that year just because lame old Uncle Percy was dead. He guessed girls were just too over emotional since it was taking her so long to get over it, he couldn't wait to be Quidditch Captain next year. He wouldn't waste an entire month and a bit with no practices. His good spirits had almost been ruined Thursday though, when the Slytherin had missed his Charms lesson but thankfully he'd showed up to History of Magic just as James was about to give up. He grabbed the scumbag readily and the coward's eyes actually started to fill with tears already, Slytherins were really pathetic.

"_Please_," the Slytherin whimpered, "Please leave me alone."

"Coward," James spat and threw him to the ground back into the stairwell to be further from the classes.

"Leave him alone!" an unfamiliar voice snapped.

James turned to see some Ravenclaw boy walking back up the stairs to him, he recognized him vaguely as the Astronomy Professor's son. He had the same olive skin although his hair was darker and shorter, there was a resemblance though and James' eyes narrowed. He didn't want the younger Koray going to his daddy and ruining his fun, he also felt a pang of anger. The boy got to see his father all the time unlike James, they were probably close too.

"Shouldn't you be in class?" James asked in a sneer as whatever-his-first-name-was Koray reached him.

"Shouldn't you pick on someone your own size?" Koray shot back, he looked actually angry but James still hoped to intimidate him.

"This doesn't concern you, beat it," James snapped and took a step forward to put the boy in his shadow since he was considerable taller than two twelve year olds, he also cracked his knuckles but Koray didn't budge.

"I'm not afraid of you," Koray told him quietly calmly, sounding like he was trying very hard to keep his temper in check, "And you won't lay a finger on me."

"Oh yeah?" James wondered with an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah. If you haven't noticed, my Father's the Head of Ravenclaw and the Astronomy Professor. Touch me and my Dad will make sure you're punished."

"My Dad's the Head Auror, I can do whatever I want."

"Your Dad is in London, my Dad's upstairs," Koray pointed out and James felt a surge of anger rush through him, the boy was actually trying to rub it in that he had a better relationship with his dad! "So leave my friend alone, right now."

"I don't take orders from you!" James snapped darkly, glaring at the still unafraid boy and even meeting the deep extremely dark blue eyes. He was friends with a Slytherin so he was clearly an evil traitor and just as bad, although he knew he couldn't touch him and risk reprisal. He couldn't lose his temper.

"Why-Why don't we just erm... st-stop?" the Slytherin babbled out uncertainly, he'd gotten to his feet now but neither of them paid him any mind.

"Go on to your class, Byron," Koray said calmly, gesturing for the Slytherin to go, "He's not going to do anything."

"Don't move!" James barked at the Slytherin who flinched in fear, he wanted Koray to do that, "You're not going anywhere, I'm not done with you, coward."

"You're the one who's a coward!" Koray shot out furiously and James was taken aback, enraged at the boy's audacity to accuse _him_ of cowardice. The Slytherin looked between them fearfully.

"I'm a Gryffindor, you insolent brat!"

"AND YOU'RE A _COWARD_!" Koray hollered, his words shaking with rage rather than fear, "You think it's _brave_ to pick on kids half your size?! You think it's _brave_ to pick on kids with just a third of your experience with magic?! You think it's _brave_ to torture someone so bad they hate being alive?! You think it's _brave_ to make them physically ill with dread?! NO! That's not bravery, that's just sick! You're sick!"

"Pol, please-" the Slytherin whimpered but he was ignored again.

"You're the coward! You're the one who's pathetic! You're the one who's bad! You're a disgrace! You're a disgrace to your father's name!"

"DON'T YOU _DARE_ SAY A WORD AGAINST MY FATHER!" James screamed at him and Koray's lips only curled into a sneer, "HE'S A HERO! NO ONE EVEN KNOWS YOUR FATHER'S NAME!"

"WHY?! CAN'T FACE THE TRUTH! YOU DON'T DESERVE TO CALL HARRY POTTER YOUR FATHER, HE'S A HERO AND YOU'RE JUST A SADISTIC MONSTER! I BET DEEP DOWN HE'S DISGUSTED TO HAVE YOU AS HIS SON!"

James's wand was in his hand and he lashed out with thinking or even caring, too consumed with rage at the boy's words. He just wanted to hurt him, to hurt him so badly. The first thing that came to mind was the spell that Malfoy had tried to use on him, the one that killed Dragon-breath's eye. An eye for an eye, or in this case a horrendous insult. What was the incantation again?

"_ACUTA_!"

He yelled the word and slashed his wand wildly, not knowing the wand movement or how the spell really worked but he remembered Malfoy being mad and just waving his wand wildly. The effect was not quite what he expected, it didn't take his eye as his wand had moved from Koray's thigh to the shoulder. He could tell as the fabric was ripped as the boy was flung back, blood erupting from the deep wound going through it. The Slytherin shrieked and fell to his knees by Koray, shakily patting the long wound as if that would help and when he raised them, his hands were crimson.

James' anger was too engulfing to feel anything other than rage and a deep satisfaction to have wiped the smug look off the brat's face, the color seemed to be draining from his face as the gushing red started soaking through his blue and bronze Ravenclaw uniform. His face was a mask of pain now, his eyes were wide and blinking back tears. Pathetic.

"WHO'S PATHETIC NOW?!" James shrieked at him, stomping down violently on the bloody wound. Koray yelped in pain and the tears streamed from his eyes, he opened his mouth as if to speak but instead blood spluttered out.

"What did you do?!" the Slytherin demanded of him, looking close to tears himself.

"I GAVE HIM EXACTLY WHAT HE DESERVED!"

"This is why I told you I didn't want to do anything!" the Slytherin squeaked at his friend before standing as Koray coughed out more blood, "I'm going to help, okay?! I'm going to get help."

"No, you're not!" James spat and blocked the way as the Slytherin tried to head to the Hospital Wing, "I told you that I'm not done with you yet!"

"He's really hurt!" the Slytherin whined pathetically and tried to withdraw his wand, James snatched it from him and tossed it down the stairs, "Can't you see he's hurt?!"

"I TOLD YOU, HE GOT WHAT HE DESERVED!" James repeated furiously and struck the Slytherin with enough force to send up to the ground beside his friend, "And I'm not having you getting me in trouble! It's your fault! I told you not to tell anyone and what did you do?! Huh?! What did you do?! ANSWER ME!"

"What's going on?" a new and even younger voice asked, they both heads swiveled to see Ashain's son climbing up the stairs. His dark chestnut eyes looked between the bleeding boy still spluttering blood, the Slytherin and James as he paused to pick up the Slytherin's wand without a shred of expression, "Leave them alone, that boy needs healing."

"Get out of here, you baby!" James spat at him still enraged, Antonius he thought it was.

"_Expelliarmus!_" Antonius cast with the Slytherin's wand.

James was so shocked at the small child using magic that he didn't react. With perfect aim, the jet of light struck him and sailed through the air over the side of the Grand Staircase. He then kept it held with ease on James as if he'd held a wand before, James supposed he shouldn't be surprised. Antonius was the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor's son, figures Ashain would - probably illegally - teach his little brats some magic. It only added fuel to James' anger though, he didn't care how or why. He cared that he'd been disarmed by a baby, he felt his cheeks burning in humiliation.

"That boy is going to go help and you're going to leave them alone," Antonius said quite calmly with his wand still trained with ease on James, apparently forgetting he was just a little baby who shouldn't be in Hogwarts yet and hadn't a shred of authority.

"I don't think so!" James spat, he was not going to be defeated by a baby!

"_Petrificus Totalis!_"

Antonius again cast a perfect spell but this time, James was ready. He leaped out of the way of the spell and crossed the distance between them, snatching the wand effortlessly from the small boy's hand and tossing it over the side to join his own. He didn't need magic to overpower him, he then punched the brat square in the jaw and Antonius fell, hitting the bannister before thudding to the ground.

James heard scampering footsteps and glanced over his shoulder to see the Slytherin fleeing like the pathetic coward he was, he had a new target for his rage however and turned back to Antonius. The boy who _dared_ try to diminish his father's great achievements by getting a fake lightning bolt scar, as well as standing up to him, to _him_. James Sirius Potter, the son of heroes while Antonius was related to scumbag Shadows. Antonius tried to get up and James hit him again, this time he fell back flat on the ground and James launched on him. Antonius tried to land a feeble punch but James brushed it off effortlessly and smashed his fist back into the boy's face, forcefully enough that a tooth flew from his mouth which already had blood trickling from it.

"My wobbly tooth!" Antonius cried as James brought his fist back down.

And again. And again. James vented his rage into beating the brat, the strange child didn't look afraid though or beg for him to stop. He just took it, sometimes lamely trying to raise his arms to defend himself. James just pummeled him relentlessly, regardless of how many cracks he heard as he brutalized him and screamed insults as he did so. He just hit him to make for the humiliation of being disarmed by him, to punish him for insulting his father by getting that fake scar. He deserved it! He deserved it so much! Anyone could see that! James punched until someone pulled him off him, he gave a cry of rage and swung wildly at whoever had dared to try to stop him. Carver grabbed his fist mid-punch though, James blinked in shock.

"Jay, stop," Carver told him seriously and James felt his anger reignited.

"He deserves it!" James screeched.

"He's not even conscious!"

James glanced back to Antonius in surprise and saw the boy wasn't moving or making a sound, in fact he wasn't giving an indication he was alive besides ragged breaths. His eyes were closed although that could just be because they were swollen so badly, his face was a bloody, bruised mess and the right arm he'd kept raising to protect himself was twisted at the wrong angle. Koray wasn't much better, his mouth was crimson with blood still dripping down the sides and his eyes fluttered weakly.

"What did you do?!" Carver demanded of him, grabbing him by the shoulders as if to shake him. Despite the situation, James felt a giddy rush at being so close to him with Carver's strong hands on him as he looked up into his taller friend's face, "What did I tell you!? What did you do?!"

"They deserved it," James reiterated firmly, fragments of his fury snapping back together.

"I don't bloody care!" Carver snapped, looking angry himself now, "Don't you understand what you've done?! How much trouble you'll be in?!"

"Yeah right," James scoffed, "They're not going to do anything to me, I'm Harry Potter's son! And I'm on the Quidditch team so they need me for the match in a few days."

Carver opened his mouth to say something in reply but was cut off as the Slytherin returned with Marigold, his friend abandoned him to help with the injured. James might have felt slightly betrayed if he didn't feel his anger waning by the arrival of an adult who could punish him even if it was someone as lame as Marigold, the biased Slytherin prick. He'd also gotten his revenge, except against the Slytherin who he could clearly see had masterminded the whole thing in an attempt to get James into trouble. Marigold conjured a stretcher to rush Koray to the Hospital Wing and Carver just scooped up Antonius' small battered body - after Marigold had checked them both to make sure they could be moved of course - to carry by himself and James followed, James wondered what it would be like to be picked up in Carver's strong, muscular arms...

"Potter!" a gruffer voice barked and James turned away from watching Carver lay Antonius down, wondering what it would be like to be laid down on a bed by Carver's strong muscular ar- "I said Potter!"

"What?" James complained at being drawn from his thoughts and did succeed in glancing at the speaker this time, Rutherford.

"Come with me, you're to wait in my office until we sort this out."

"He didn't do anything," Carver blurted out as he hurried to them, "It was me, I attacked them. James was innoc-"

"I don't think so," Rutherford spat disbelievingly, "A minor offense there for lying to a Ministry official, well done and twenty points from Gryffindor. Get out of here before I punish you worse."

"Let me guess, I get a major?" James guessed with a roll of his eyes at the stupid system.

"No, you get to come and wait in my office until we sort this out. So come on," Rutherford insisted, turning on his heel this time and James grumpily followed. Carver also tried to, "Mr Edwards, I said scram!"

"Just do what he says, I'll be fine," James brushed it off and Carver looked upset as he shook his head, walking off though while James went with Rutherford and Marigold stayed to tend to the injured weaklings. Honestly, it was their fault for being so weak that they got hurt so bad.

Rutherford took him to his office and then left him there without another word, James tried the door but it was locked and didn't have his wand since Antonius had disarmed him of it earlier so he was forced to wait. And wait. And wait. He was getting really hungry and his knuckles were kind of sore from beating Antonius, he was also very bored. He tried to snoop on Rutherford's desk but found only two pictures, one of himself with some woman and one of a muggle baby scan photo thing that James didn't remember the name of but Oring had mentioned them in his Muggle Studies class. Rutherford had shoved all the papers on his desk into the draws when he left James there, they were all locked. The only other thing was an inkwell and nothing else but the desk and chair.

Time dragged by, he started getting even hungrier and knew he'd missed lunch. He eventually took a nap, resting his head on Rutherford's desk as if he was in a History of Magic lesson. He was only woken by Rutherford to be taken to the Headmaster's office, he was starving them and could see from the setting sun that it was probably nearly dinner time. He hoped it wouldn't take long. His hopes changed when he reached the office though, Elwood was at his desk looking unhappy with a stoic Neville standing in the door way but standing beside the Headmaster was his father.

"Dad!" James cried happily and tried to rush towards his dad but Rutherford grabbed him, shoving him into the chair instead. He frowned as none of the adults protested, his dad hadn't returned his smile or tried to go towards him. His expression was unreadable, James rolled his eyes, "Let me guess, I'm suspended again?"

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" Elwood asked him and James noticed his wand on the Headmaster's desk, he tried to take it but Elwood snatched it back out of his reach.

"They pissed me off and they deserved it, come on. Why should Koray get special treatment because his Dad's a professor? And Antonius isn't even a student so it shouldn't matter," James pointed out defensively, "So how long am I suspended for?"

"You're not."

"I'm not?" James wondered happily, a grin slipping onto his face and he beamed at his father. Clearly his dad had helped him out here to make this go away, he felt his heart fill with so much joy it threatened to burst. His dad did love him after all! He did have his back.

"James, you're expelled," Rutherford told him and the smile was wiped from James' face in an instant, glancing at the other adults to see they were serious. This couldn't be true.

"This can't be true, you can't expel me," James protested, looking between their still severe expressions and finally at his father, "Dad, do something!"

"I can, Pollux Koray almost died and the evidence of your horrific abuse of Byron Knight... You're expelled. Tell him Elwood."

"You're expelled," Elwood confirmed solemnly and James felt his heart twist in panic, this had to be some cruel practical joke to get back at him. It couldn't be true, it _couldn't._

"Dad, do something," James pleaded again, looking fearfully at his father who finally spoke.

"You have to face the consequences of your actions," his dad said in a very quiet voice and his emerald green eyes seemed to glisten behind his glasses as if shining from tears, James' jaw just dropped.

"And more than that," Rutherford continued and James looked back to him, he almost looked like he was enjoying this, "I warned you that when you came of age things get serious, attacking little kids gets serious."

"I don't under-" James started to say but Neville interrupted.

"James Sirius Potter, you're under arrest," Neville announced as he came over to him.

"_What?!_" James burst out incredulously and Neville hauled him to his feet, he thought he saw Elwood hand his father his wand but he was more focused on Neville's. His Herbology professor was he waving his wand and heavy chains were suddenly binding his wrists, James felt his heart start to panic, "Neville, no! You can't arrest me, no! You can't do this! You can't!"

"I'm sorry, James, I'm truly sorry."

"NO!" James shrieked as Neville led him to the fireplace as if to take him to the Ministry, he felt tears in his eyes, this couldn't be happening to him, "You can't do this! You can't arrest me! Stop! Neville! Dad! Dad, help me! Dad! DAD!"

But his father did nothing as he was taken away, sobbing and screaming all the while.


	12. Chapter 12: Consequence

_**Parts (48-51)**_

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**V  
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**Chapter 12**

Consequence

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**Part 1: **Potter the Prisoner

* * *

James Potter was in shock, he literally couldn't believe what had happened. Hadn't be just been having a good week with the Quidditch match on Saturday and now he was_ expelled_, he was being _arrested_. He didn't understand how this was happening, he didn't understand how this could happen to him. He felt like his world was crashing down around him or he was trapped in some surreal nightmare that he so desperately wanted to wake up from, he was vaguely aware of the flash of a camera and Neville was saying words about his supposed crimes that he couldn't hear over his own cries. People were staring, gasping, pointing and muttering to each other as the famous Harry Potter's son was arrested. And Neville. The family friend. His brother's godfather. The professor he should've had a class with that afternoon. The man he'd known his whole life. That Neville was the one keeping him in chains, marching him down halls in the Ministry.

James was let away from the people and down into darkness, no longer passing rooms but cells. Neville finally stopped at one, he tapped the bars with his wand and the rippled. James barely had time to wonder why before he was pushed through them, he turned back in surprise and attempted to leave but the solidified the second Neville moved his wand away. He tapped the chains binding James and they too vanished, he rubbed his wrists and noticed the dried blood on his knuckles - Rutherford's office hadn't had a bathroom - still. He looked back up and saw Neville was already walking away.

"Neville!" James called after him desperately, it came out in a shameless sob and more tears rolled down his already stained face, "Neville! You're not-You're not g-going to just leave me here, are you?! Neville! _Neville!_"

But Neville didn't say a word, he didn't even look back and his expression remained stony. James looked around the tiny cell, perfectly square and only about as long as the average height of a man. There was a porcelain toilet sticking out of the wall - was he really supposed to use it? There was no privacy or toilet paper - that was - disgustingly - right beside his narrow cot, there was a shabby pillow and blanket the length of the barred wall. Only the wall opposite the bars he'd came through was solid stone, either side was bars as well which made him feel rather like a caged animal. It was also dirty, the floors and walls were all covered in grime. It was cold too. It was cold down there.

He wrapped his arms around himself for the weakest feeling of warmth it gave him but it was all he got as he went to sit on the bed, the springs squeaking as he sat. So this was it? He was just being left down here in the cold and filth to rot? Didn't they realize it was horrible down there? He was cold and hungry and he wanted to go home or back to Hogwarts, he wasn't a criminal, he wasn't a bad person. He didn't belong there. Was he _really_ just being left down there? He felt a fresh wave of tears rising in his eyes as the sting of betrayal got him for what Neville had done and even worse, his father. His own father. He'd just stood, he'd just stood and watched. Did he really not love him? Did he really not care at all? Was he right? Was his worst fears realized? Did his dad really hate him? James buried his face in his hands as he cried, stinging tears streaming from his eyes as the sobs wracked his body. He didn't want to be here, he wanted to go home.

"Aw what's the matter? Does the poor wickle cry baby want his Mommy?" a voice taunted abruptly and James leaped up, seeing a man opposite him in the cell by his side. He had his face pressed between the bars to get as good a look at him as possible, he gasped, "You're Potter's boy, you are!"

"Yes, I am," James croaked out, rather fearful of the man's untamed appearance and filthy, matted hair hanging either side of a face with wild bulging eyes. The man cackled in amusement and gave him a lopsided grin.

"What's the matter, boy? You must have done screwed up good to have your old man the hero turn his back and drag you down here. What'd you do, eh?"

"Nothing!" James protested defensively, "I'm not like you people! I'm a good person!"

"Sure,_ that's_ why they put lock people up here," the criminal said with words dripped in sarcasm, "As a reward for being so good, that makes perfect sense."

"Shut up, I don't have to listen to take that from a scumbag like you."

"I think you do, not like you're going anywhere anyway. Daddy left you down here to die, guess he thought there was something with you."

Usually - and earlier that day in fact - he'd be angry at the insinuation of not being good enough to be the hero's son or that his father disliked him, angry to hide the fact that deep down it upset him and was a huge insecurity for him. But here he just felt upset. Some fragments of his mind had clung to the hope he was wrong, that his dad did love him really but here he saw there was no point denying it. It was the truth as here he stood in a filthy prison cell, his father had just watched...

Without warning, the other man lunged at the bars and James shrieked in shock as he leaped back. The man cackled again at having gotten scared him, enough to dislodge the new wave of tears welling behind his eyes. He didn't want to be there! He wanted to go home. He grabbed the bars he'd come through, shaking them uselessly as he started sobbing again .

"Dad!" James cried in the silent darkness, having to shout over the rattling of the bars, "Dad! Dad! Let me out! Help me! Daddy, help me! Daddy! I want to go home now! I want to go home! DAD!"

James didn't know how long he stood there, banging and pulling on the bars as he screamed for his father. It was a while though. Long enough that the other prisoner had started begging him to be silent, even attempting to say things to quiet the noise. Long enough that his eyes felt crying, he didn't think he'd cried so much in his life. Long enough that his voice was hoarse from screaming, that his throat actually hurt. But his dad never came. His dad was never going to come. His dad really didn't love him, here was the proof. And he a gave a final roar of pain as the slivers of hope were ripped away from him, collapsing onto the filthy floor as silent tears continued to roll down his cheeks mixing with the snot streaming from his nose. He didn't know how long he lay there either, his companion had gone quiet though.

And then he heard it. Footsteps. James raised his head off, hoping to get a better listen as the one ear had been pressed against the floor. He realized two things, the first was that he now had a layer of the dirt from the ground on his cheek and the second was that he could definitely hear footsteps. He leapt to his feet so fast he had to grab the bars again to steady himself, hopefully, desperately staring into the gloom as he waited for the echoing footsteps to reach him. His father? James felt his hopes obliterated as quickly as they'd started to form, it wasn't his father but rather a certain handsome, sandy-haired Auror. Cel was nonetheless a friendly face and a bubble of hope reformed as he could still have been sent by his father, the bubble popped when he noticed he was carrying a tray with food and drink for two prisoners on it. There only seemed to be two of them there and one of them was James, more tears already swam behind his eyes.

"You're not here to let me out, are you?" James asked weakly with a quivering as Cel stopped in front, the Adonis gave him a look of sympathy as he sadly shook his head. James choked on another but managed to hold it, he looked pitiful enough as it was with dirt stuck to one side of his face which was red and blotchy from crying, also stained with tears and snot. His next words still came out as a quiet whimper despite his best efforts for that to not be the case, "What's going to happen to me, Cel?"

"Cel?" the other prisoner sneered and laughed, "Cel in the cell."

"Shut it," Cel growled in darker tone then James had thought possible from him, throwing a menacing look at the man with eyes that suddenly looked a predator eying prey and the criminal fled wordlessly to the corner of the cell with a look of fear. Cel finally turned back to him, his voice kind once more, "This is only temporary, we only hold people here until they can be tried by the Wizengamot. It's usually between a few weeks and a few months until that happens, you only get sent to proper prison if you're found guilty and sentenced to it."

"I don't even understand," James complained, icy slivers of fear stabbing through him at the thought of incarceration. He shivered, "Why is this happening to me? At most what I did could be construed as bullying and they're just milking it, playing up their injuries to seem worse than they really are."

"You hurt the Koray kid really badly, it did major internal damage and he may never fully recover from it. That was a nasty spell you used."

"Why didn't Malfoy get expelled when he used it?" James demanded, finding it suddenly very unfair since he'd heard the spell first after all.

"Because he didn't do as much damage, the Acutus Curse works by slashing whatever way your wand goes at the victim, healing spells make it work and it's also difficult to abate with potions. The more power you put into it the worse the damage, the deeper it goes. Yours was more powerful and covered a larger area then Malfoy's so you hurt Koray much worse."

"But I didn't know that! I was just angry and I wanted to hurt him."

"You shouldn't use spells you don't truly understand," Cel pointed out in the kindest tone possible, "And for what it's worth, you did hurt him though so I hope you're happy."

"It's not my fault he made me angry, why doesn't Koray have to take some responsibility? This is more his fault then mine after all."

"He's barely alive right now. And it doesn't matter anyway, you'd also be in trouble for attacking Atticus Ashain's son-"

"He started it! He attacked me first!" James protested defensively and truthfully, the boy had disarmed him after all, "And he stole the Slytherin's wand to do it."

"James, you pummeled him into a concussion and broke several bones."

"It was no worse than other times I've hit people! It's not my fault he's weak."

"He's nine, you're of age. Little kids are going to break easier if you hit them," Cel told him, looking at him if expecting James to show some kind of remorse, "Crimes against children are taken very seriously."

"He shouldn't have bit off more than he should chew then, should he?" James insisted as he folded, refusing to feel sympathy. The boy didn't act like a regular kid anyway and he recalled the lack of fear or emotion at being attacked, Antonius was some kind of unfeeling freak of nature.

"Well there's still Byron Knight anyway."

"I didn't even do anything to him today!"

"But you have in the past, he spoke up after you hurt his friend. He has a journal, bruises and visits to the Hospital Wing to prove it."

"He's a _Slytherin_!" James pointed out desperately as it clicked into place, "They're all slime, scumbag liars! That book is clearly a work of fiction and Marigold's also a Slytherin, of course he'd back him up! Can't you see, Cel?! Can't you see that is all part of his evil mastermind plot to get me expelled?!"

"Can't you see that it's not?" Cel countered and James looked at him blankly as the Auror handed him the beaker of water through the bars.

"Well sure I've done _some_ stuff to him but he's a Slytherin, he's bad and he deserves it," James insisted, wishing more people could understand like Xerxes did while Cel tapped one of the bowls with his wand which made it shimmer instead of the bars to pass through to him. He then went to do the same to the other prisoner before returning to him, "I've certainly never passed into the realms of law breaking."

"Some people think otherwise."

"Do you?"

"It's not up to me, is it?" Cel pointed out and James looked unhappily down into his bowl of... slop? James felt tears in his eyes again, he didn't want slop. He wanted real food.

"I want to go home," James whined, realizing how pathetic he sounded but he was too desperate to care, "Can't you do something, Cel? Please?"

"I've tried," Cel told him looking sympathetic, "Most people are allowed home before the trials, depending on the severity of their crimes they can be limited to just home where protective enchantments are put in place to ensure it or not allowed a wand, you just need someone at home willing to vouch for you and for the crimes to not be too severe. You should be fine to stay home until the trial."

"Then why aren't I?!" James begged desperately and Cel opened his mouth, closed again and repeated the process a few times as if debating whether to give him an honest answer or not.

"I-I don't know," Cel said finally, "I've tried talking to your Dad, he seems to want you to stay down here for a while."

"Can you tell him how miserable I am? Does he know it's horrible down here? And that there's this horrible criminal next to me? And that I'm hungry for real-"

"I'm not horrible!" the criminal complained, looking offended as he proceeded to scoop out the slop with two fingers to dip it into his mouth.

"I'll tell him but I don't think it'll matter. I'll do my best though, it's just that he seems to want you to suffer," Cel offered as he turned and left.

James watched with tears welling in his eyes as the head of handsome sandy hear retreated further away until he could see only blackness, he listened then until the footsteps also receded into nothingness. He glanced down at the bowl of slop, looking to have the consistency of curled milk. Cel only confirmed his fears, his dad really hated him and wanted him to rot down here. James gave a cry of anguish as he curled the bowl at the criminal's cell next to him, the man hungrily jumping on it and shoving dollops of the stuff into his mouth from off the filth-covered ground. Seeing him on his hands and knees made James keenly aware of how thin the man actually was, he looked starved although whether that was a result of innutritious slop or from before his stay there he didn't know. And really, James didn't care. For the second time he collapsed the ground, curling himself up into the fetal position as he cried again from his stinging eyes for his the dad who'd turned his back on him.

* * *

Harry Potter was in shock, he literally couldn't believe what had happened. Here he'd been thinking James was doing better and maturing into a good man but now his son was_ expelled_, his little boy had been _arrested_. He didn't understand how this was happening, he didn't understand how James could have done these things. He almost felt like his world was crashing down around him or he was trapped in some surreal nightmare that he so desperately wanted to wake up from, he was sitting at his desk in his office back at the Ministry with his head buried in his arms. Staring into the blackness, he could almost believe it was a dream. But as he raised his head, he saw James' wand still before him, in his possession only because he asked as a favor that it not be snapped. He didn't want James to be wandless despite what he'd done.

"You can't blame yourself, mate," Ron offered and Harry glanced at his oldest friend sitting in the corner.

"Then who should I blame?" Harry asked bitterly and unhappily, "He's _my_ son. _My_ flesh and blood. _I_ raised him."

"He's _my_ flesh and blood too._ My_ nephew. _My_ godson," Ron countered while Hermione joined them, Harry could only blame himself though, "If you want to play the blame game then it's all of our faults."

"And speaking of blame," Hermione added, brushing her bushy brown hair behind her ears and leaning in the doorway, "I spoke to all of the parents."

"And? Would they be willing to not want to pursue charges?"

"Well Knight's grandparents don't care, they seem under the impression it's the boy's responsibility to fight his own battles," Hermione answered, from the irate tone she clearly did not approve of this and neither did Harry either but he wanted to protect his son as much as he wanted to smack him around his head, "Claudia on the other hand wants to bring back the death penalty and wants James to be the first recipient."

"Well someone's bloodthirsty," Ron scoffed and his wife threw him a compassionate look.

"Can you blame her, honestly? What if it was Rose or Hugo lying in the Hospital Wing with severe internal damage and the possibility of not recovering?"

"If it were Rose or Hugo lying in the Hospital Wing then I wouldn't _need_ to bring back the death penalty to get blood," Ron pointed out darkly, "But this isn't about them, it's about protecting James."

"I work with the woman every day, I'd consider her a friend in fact, she's a good person and her son was just trying to look out for his friend. She's perfectly entitled to want justice for child," Hermione pointed out, looking upset as she folded her arms. In honesty, Harry found himself agreeing with her and felt rather sick at the thought of trying to take it from the parents just to protect his son. Yet that was what he was doing.

"Do you _want_ James to be locked up in New Azkaban prison?"

"Of course not! I just- I just wish this hadn't happened is all. I don't like feeling like the bad guy. And what kind of message does this send to the poor kids? That people can just hurt them and get away with it if they're related to someone famous? That's exactly what he threatened Byron into silence with, he practically tortured the poor boy. It had to take a lot of courage to hand over his journal in the first- Did you even read it?"

"I skimmed it," Ron admitted as he scratched his chin, "Things like 'James is hitting me, blah blah blah' or 'I'm so miserable, blah blah blah.' Which is bad, I know - I feel just as bad for the poor kid as the next guy - but this is still James. What's the alternative? Snap his wand and sent him to prison for a few years? The prisons the Soul Eaters like destroying? Honestly, you'd almost think Voldy's son hates prisons or something. What about Atty and Koray's father? Were they on board with dropping the charges?"

"I didn't ask," Harry answered, speaking for the first time in a while "But Atty wanted to be the one to arrest James so probably not and Koray threatened to quit if James wasn't expelled so also probably not."

He'd been two preoccupied seeing the result of James' handiwork, the nine year old who could not add being brutalized to the already traumatic things he'd had happen to him in his short yet painful life, the barely breathing Ravenclaw Marigold still worked on who'd tried standing up for his friends and then Byron himself. The boy was a wreck. His skeletal body battered and bruised from months of abuse, his self-esteem destroyed by his own son. Reading Byron's journal had been torturous, seeing the pain of James' victim as it tore away at the boy physically and mentally. He knew it wasn't _just_ James, Byron also struggled with the loss of his legs and parents but he'd coping well enough before James. Byron was a wreck now, a far cry from the person he'd been when he'd first started his journal. Children. How could _his_ _son_ hurt _children_?

Harry thought it was a sad day when he felt he could relate more with his son's victim then his son, the things he read actually made him worry about James. His perception seemed warped at best or twisted, sometimes the point of absurd irrationality. He'd given it to Flan to read, hoping he could discern something from the tome to help either of them. Flan. Flan had said he had concerns with James and even offered to see him privately over the summer, for free in fact despite knowing he needed money. But Harry had refused, he'd thought James was doing better. He had no idea James had simply focused his attention on one target who was too afraid to speak up, still he kicked himself for refusing Flan's aid before. Or even just talking to James himself, he knew his son craved his attention but he was still too busy failing at saving the rest of the world as well as failing at being a father. Despite knowing James was in the wrong, he still wanted to protect his son, he still loved him and it had actually brought him to tears allowing the arrest. But that was the other thing, he also wanted to stop James hurting anyone else. Always he had to protect the world too.

"So what's the plan?" Ron asked of him, jostling Harry from his thoughts and he collected them before speaking.

"James is expelled, we have no control over Hogwarts," Harry pointed out, aside from the favor of the wand anyway, "We'll give it some time to see how the boys do and how the parents' moods go, instead of prison we try get him community service. It might do him some good to see firsthand some people suffering and to help out with them, something along those lines. He can still have a future then, maybe finally make him see and become the good man I_ know_ he can be."

"Okay," Hermione nodded at the same time that Ron did, seeming satisfied with his decision, "Want me to send a Patronus to Cel to tell him he can just take James out?"

"No, I want him to stay there for a while. If the community service doesn't help then just maybe some time down there in the cells will scare him away from that kind of behavior."

* * *

**Part 2: **When Friends Were Around

* * *

Scorpius didn't give Byron much thought, not really seeing what he could do about it short of stepping in if he saw anything happening. Which he didn't. He should have paid more attention to it though, he didn't pay that much attention to other students though as his friends had pointed out. If he had then he might have noticed earlier the class gossiping in the double Charms after lunch on Thursday, rumors of James' actions spread like Fiendfyre after all. He did pay more attention to the teachers though and noticed the odd sympathetic looks that Professor Hagrid kept giving Albus in the Care of Magical Creatures after or the fearful gaze of Midas in Transfiguration after that, eying Albus as if expecting him to attack her at any second. His final class of the day was Study of Ancient Runes, which Abby and Albus didn't have but they did have some news for them when they left.

"James has been expelled!" Albus blurted out, he and Abby waiting for them oddly outside the class.

"_What?!_" Rose shrieked in shock, Scorpius and Michael wearing identical expressions of surprise. Maurice scowled as he put a hand to his necklace, clearly annoyed they hadn't waited for him to be ready before starting a conversation.

"James was expelled," Abby reiterated and Scorpius found his surprise wearing off, it wasn't as if James was the nicest person in the world.

"So what? He's a jerk," Maurice brushed it off with a dismissive shrug, Michael was also looking disinterested again.

"And that's not all."

"He was arrested," Albus explained, looking somewhat hurt.

"_WHAT?!_" Rose shrieked yet again as her jaw dropped, Scorpius' surprise was reignited but he didn't react as much as Rose as he wondered what James had done to earn an arrest.

"He was arrested."

"My Dad did it," Abby added and Scorpius felt a chill in his heart as he recalled Rutherford warning James about being arrested if he hurt a child when he came of age, which he had.

"What did he do?" Scorpius asked anxiously.

"Do you remember how Knight wanted me to get my brother to leave his brother alone?" Albus questioned and Scorpius nodded truthfully, "Apparently James tried to go after him again except his friend - Koray's son - got in the way, James got mad and Acuta'd the kid really badly. Antonius showed up when James was going to start on Byron Knight and erm... err... beat the crap out him instea- Where are you going?!"

"To see Antonius!" Scorpius shot back.

He practically ran down to the Hospital Wing, not really knowing or caring if his friends were following. He reached it and saw that Albus seemed to have been correct, he vaguely recognized Pollux Koray lying in another bed. His face now ashen and his eyes closed, his chest was rising and falling so slowly and shallowly that Scorpius almost didn't notice he was breathing, a man and woman sat with him. Professor Koray was the Astronomy teacher he knew well and he would guess the woman was his mother, the professor was of average height for a man but his wife was actually several inches taller. She also seemed quite big, not overweight or muscular but just largely proportioned. Despite that she still looked perfectly feminine, her ivory skin both clashed and complimented her ebony hair perfectly and her features were not unattractive. Her dark hair was tied up in a tight bun while her large, long-lashed eyes focused only on her child.

She was actually dressed very formally in contrast to the much more casual clothes her husband wore, he'd guess she probably worked at the Ministry and had come straight from there to be with her son. Professor Koray had his arm around her, his other holding his son's hand and both wore worried expressions. In the far corner he saw Byron sobbing silently onto his brother's shoulder, the elder Knight rubbing his back soothingly with a sympathetic expression. And then - sure enough - there was Antonius, in a bed on the opposite side to the Korays. His wounds seemed to have been healed, his breathing seemed easy and he looked as if he was just sleeping. In fact, he probably was sleeping.

But still, Scorpius felt himself fill with fury at the sight of the nine year old in the hospital bed. The same age he'd been, the same age Orous had been, the same age Lorcan had been, even Michael had been beaten at that age. And Antonius was lying in one now, looking far too small to fit the bed. Scorpius was enraged, he felt his fists clench and his body shake as he thought of when he had laid in one of those after being healed and given something to sleep it off. He knew it wasn't the same situation but he still felt so angry. How _dare_ James?! How _dare_ he lay a hand on a nine year old?! How _dare_ he strike him?! How_ dare_ he beat him?! How freaking dare he?! What gave him the right to hurt a child?! What gave anyone the right?!

"Scor?" one of his friends asked and Scorpius strode back into the hallway to flash them his murderous expression unintentionally.

"Where is he?!" Scorpius demanded of Albus, they had followed him after all.

"Who?" Albus wondered in confusion.

"James! Where is James?!"

"Why?"

"Because I'm going to bloody kill him, that's why!" Scorpius screamed at him louder them he'd intended, fire flared from somewhere around him but a quick flick of the wand from Maurice put it out.

"Why don't you calm down, mate?"

"He's already been taken to the Ministry," Abby added, "He'll be punished, relax."

"Sure he will!" Scorpius quipped sarcastically, "His father is Harry Potter! He can beat up as many small children as he wants!"

"Calm down," Rose offered which only enraged him more.

"Calm down?! That's Antonius in that bed!"

"We know."

"He's nine! He's only nine years old!" Scorpius screeched furiously, "Nine year olds aren't supposed to be in hospital beds! They're not supposed to be beaten up! What's next, eh?! Did James starve him too?! Did he chain him up?! Did he rape him?! Did-"

"Of course not!" Albus protested defensively looking stunned, "He's not a monster!"

"Calm down," Rose repeated.

"Stop telling me to calm down!" Scorpius raged and there was another burst of flames that Maurice disintegrated, some cracks shooting up the wall, "He hurt Antonius!"

"Come on," Michael spoke for the first time.

Scorpius was about to refuse but Michael grabbed him, half dragging him away. He was too surprised to do more other then let himself be led for a moment, realizing that the once scrawny boy was both taller and stronger then him now. Chaser was a better position for building muscles after all. Pushing that thought aside, he went to wrench his arm free and continue yelling but Michael pushed him into a random empty classroom and slammed the door behind that.

"Why did you do that?!" Scorpius was finally able to yell at him.

"Because you were right outside the Hospital Wing," Michael pointed out quite calmly, "Those boys need rest not to be disrupted by your shouting, one of the adults was just about to come tell you to shut up anyway."

"I will not calm down!"

"I didn't tell you to calm down, I dragged you in here so you can get it out of your system while they can still rest. You want Antonius to get some rest, right?"

"Yes," Scorpius spat irritably.

"Good," Michael nodded, his calmness both infuriated him and impeded his rage, "Look I get it, okay? You don't think I can't emphasize as well? But anger isn't going to solve anything, James is long gone and he's not those muggles."

"I know!" Scorpius snapped, clenching and unclenching his fists as he felt his anger wavering in place of pain at the mention of them, "I just don't want Antonius to be hurt at all, by anyone in any way. He's just a kid, we were all just kids."

"He'll be alright, Scorpius," Michael offered gently, sounding much more like himself. So much like himself that it made Scorpius realize how truly unlike himself that Michael had been recently, "The important thing is that he'll be alright and whatever happens, James is gone now. He can't hurt him anymore, he can't hurt anyone anymore."

"What's wrong with you?" Scorpius asked sadly and worriedly, causing Michael to look taken aback, "You haven't been yourself lately."

"We're talking about you."

"Well now we're talking about you," Scorpius pointed out and Michael looked at him for a long moment as he ran a hand through his tangled mane of hair.

"Well there's nothing to talk about, I'm fine."

"You're not fine."

"I've_ never_ been fine," Michael told him darkly as he headed for the door, "And I never will be so just drop it."

He slammed the door behind him for the second time and left Scorpius to his thoughts.

* * *

_Never once before in his life in all those times he'd clung to fantasies of freedom had Tommy thought that any of them would be bad, never thought for a single second that it was possible to miss Azkaban. But he did, at least in one way he did. They were still prisoners, still given pitifully little to eat, still forever at the mercy of their masters. Death Eaters were horrible, just horrible. He hadn't thought it was possible to experience such pain and cruelty in an attempt to 'teach' him magic. He couldn't do it, no matter how hard he tried and every failure was rewarded with a blast of the Torture Curse, which only impeded his focus and made him fail. Master Rodolphus was the worst, he also frequently beat him and if Tommy didn't know any better then he'd have guessed the man enjoyed seeing him in pain. Master Rodolphus would also blast him for other things such as forgetting to call him master or random things like breathing too loudly, Master Rodolphus also taunted him a fair bit, frequently calling him a Squib like Marius. Whoever that was._

_The only thing worse was when they did it to Sal, knowing his twin was in pain and hearing her screams was actually worse than his own. He didn't where their mother was, they'd been left in the care of Death Eaters so his sister was all the family he had. Unless he counted Uncle Lucius - who was one of his torturers - or Aunt Narcissa who he rarely saw and got the impression she didn't like him or Sal much either, thankfully they hurt Sal less but it was a small mercy. He came to dread walking the fine halls of the Malfoy Manor and craved the basement where his battered body could just hit the concrete and sleep, oblivion was the only time he wasn't in pain. They were always left with a guard to make sure they didn't try to leave the basement, some of which doubled as torturers but most did not. Most of them were unkind, blasting them with the Torture Curse if they did anything other than sit in the furthest corner away from them or at least threatening to._

_There were two exceptions to this: Rabastan Lestrange and Brutus Ashain. Brutus was a guard, his unique appearance had initially made them think he wasn't human but rather some special other race that was being imprisoned by Death Eaters too. He wasn't. But nonetheless made an effort to be kind to them, answering their questions or enthralling them for hours about stories of his childhood especially the one subject they longed for knowledge of most: Hogwarts, the school of magic they'd been denied. Tommy looked forwards to the times Brutus was on guard, he helped make all the torture bearable and also made an effort to heal the wounds Master Rodolphus inflicted upon him._

_And there was Rabastan, the three could relate in a way few others could. They had all endured the horrors of Azkaban together and they had all endured his brother's abuse, after his parents' deaths he'd been raised by Master Rodolphus who tortured and beat him for even less reason then he did to them, he'd only recently graduated Hogwarts when he'd been arrested. Rabastan was tasked with teaching them to read and write, they had yet to see him draw his wand let alone use it to punish them for failing nor had he ever made any move to strike them. He'd been nothing but kind to them, the hate-filled looks mingled with fear were reserved only for his brother. They did better with literacy then they did with magic._

_Not they weren't magical, they could and frequently did cause accidental bursts of magic. They just couldn't make the wands they were given do the things they were supposed to. Tommy got so afraid of accidentally hurting someone that he started making the Shadows stay in the basement with Sal instead of with him to be tortured, lest he lose control and they kill Master Rodolphus as One had killed in his defense before after all. The most interesting thing happened on their fourteenth birthday though, he got so injured that Brutus took him to the magical St Mungo's hospital to be healed. His first glimpse at life outside a prisoner setting, he was so excited to see it all. People bustling about to help each other and signs that he could read, sort of, even outside he saw muggle things for the first time. Peering into shop windows full or strange wears he'd never seen before, it was all so fascinating. Which was promptly ruined by returning to find Sal being tortured, he freaked out and caused a lot of damage with magic accidentally. They still got moved to another house though._

* * *

Scorpius returned to the Hospital Wing, only to find his friends had gone and he couldn't see Antonius as his family had joined them. Unlike Pollux Koray, Antonius' mother was nowhere to be seen. He decided he'd come back when Antonius was alone, he retreated back to his dormitory where Michael had his drapes closed. He lay down on his bed and got out the map to check periodically to see when Antonius was alone, he didn't really want to intrude on Professor Ashain and Cassia's time with their son.

He also made a start on his homework, both because it needed to be done and to take his mind off things. He still couldn't believe James, had he really no shame that he would go as far as to attack a nine year old? He had to shove those thoughts aside or he'd get angry again. Antonius wasn't left alone until later, he'd guess Professor Ashain had taken Cassia to go get dinner and took the opportunity to head down to the Hospital Wing himself to check on the boy. The Knights had also left and only Professor Koray remained with his son now, the small boy was looking no better.

"Yes?" a voice questioned of him and Scorpius jumped in surprise to see Marigold addressing him with an eyebrow raised.

"I wanted to see Antonius," Scorpius offered, noticing the man was looking unusually tired with the dark circles beneath his eyes making his face more gaunt and he also had more of his white roots showing than usual, his hair was also longer as if he hadn't tended to it in a while.

"Without yelling?" Marigold wondered as he folded his arms, Scorpius felt his cheeks tinge pink.

"Without yelling," Scorpius confirmed with a nod and noticed surprisingly that Marigold was suddenly missing his ring finger, he couldn't help but blurt out a question about it, "What happened to you finger?"

"M-My finger?" Marigold stammered out in reply, looking upset as he glanced at his hands, "Al-Alzay c-c-cut it o-off."

"I... I'm sorry," Scorpius apologized sincerely, having realized it was an insensitive to ask the second the words had left his lips and that it was likely from the apparently 'mild' torture he'd received a few months ago.

"It's okay," Marigold muttered with a shrug, his expression very much indicating otherwise but he likely had no wish to talk about it, "Be quick, Anton needs rest. Head injuries are tricky."

"Okay," Scorpius nodded as he continued over to the boy's bed while Marigold went over to check on Pollux Koray, he heard a thumping as he approached Antonius as Hope the dog started wagging her tail. The massive brute was lying on the end of the bed, she looked up when she saw him though and he petted her head in greeting, "Hello Hope, who's a good girl?"

"What are you doing here?" Antonius asked and Scorpius jolted in surprise for the second time, having not realized the boy was awake but he was and looking at him with dark chestnut eyes devoid of hope.

"I came to see how you were doing."

"I thought you hated me."

"What?! Why would you think that?!" Scorpius wondered in shock, glancing around quickly to make sure that wouldn't have constituted shouting.

"Because the last time we spoke you yelled at me and haven't talked to me again until now," Antonius pointed out quite truthfully and Scorpius felt a pang of guilt.

"I err... I erm... sorry about that. I've been meaning to talk to you actually but it can probably wait, how are you feeling?"

"Been better, been worse," Antonius shrugged dismissively, "I don't get what the big deal is."

"The big deal is he beat you! You're nine!" Scorpius protested and threw an apologetic look in Marigold's direction when the Head Healer shushed him.

"Pol's probably going to have permanent damage to his lungs and Byron's a wreck, physically and mentally from what James did to him," Antonius told him, sounding very much like he was repeating things he'd heard word for word, "I'm not the worst off here."

"Well you're the only one who's my friend."

"We're still friends?" Antonius asked, sounding somewhere between surprised and afraid to hope.

"Of course," Scorpius assured him, feeling guiltier for not speaking to him sooner. He'd assumed Antonius would think he was just busy not that he was still mad at him, he lowered his voice as he continued, "And I really am sorry, I shouldn't have lost my temper with you before. I just... you shouldn't use Dark Magic like that."

"But Maurice said-"

"I told you it doesn't matter what he said," Scorpius insisted and dropped his voice to a whisper, "I'm fighting the Shadows and so is Varanian, we've_ never_ used Unforgivable Curses. You don't have to do that, we don't."

"Really?" Antonius wondered in surprise and Scorpius almost hesitated before nodding, at least he didn't think Varanian used them. He'd never seen Varanian use one of them anyway, even when he'd seen him kill he hadn't and he'd broken Linden's limbs instead of using the Cruciatus Curse when they'd been trying to find the Scamander boys.

"So you don't need to worry about using them, okay?" Scorpius offered and Antonius seemed to consider this for a long moment before replying.

"Okay. But I'm still going to practice learning magic, I need to be able to defend myself no matter what you think."

"Fair enough," Scorpius nodded and took a deep breath, knowing he was signing himself up for a big commitment here, "But how about this, I'll teach you magic and in return you don't practice alone."

"Why?"

"Because it's safer and if you really want to learn more then you'll do better with a teacher then struggling by yourself. So how about once a week I will teach you?"

"Only once a week?" Antonius complained and Scorpius held up his hands.

"Between Quidditch and OWLs my time is stretched pretty thin as it is."

"Okay," Antonius agreed and Scorpius blinked in surprise at how easy his consent was.

"Okay then, we'll arrange a time when you get better," Scorpius promised and Antonius actually gave him a smile, it was a small one but it was a smile nonetheless. It fell from his face quickly though as he saw something, Scorpius looked over his shoulder and saw it was Mrs Koray returning to sit with her child.

"I wish my Mum was here," Antonius whispered very quietly and very sadly, Scorpius felt - naturally - rather at a loss for words at this and instead simply pulled the boy into a hug.

"Even if your Mum's not here, you have people who care about you. Don't you forget that."

* * *

Lucy Weasley sat in her dormitory room she shared with two other girls, sitting at the desk and scratching away at a Science essay. Throwing herself into her work was the best way to cope she found, distracting her from her thoughts and her grief. Her friends tried to understand but they didn't, they hadn't lost a parent let alone both. She blamed Molly of course, if only she hadn't ducked then her father would still be there, her father would be the one to live and her sister would be gone. It may seem callous to wish her sister had died in place of her father but she couldn't help it, she didn't wish death upon Molly but if she had to lose someone then she'd rather it be her then her precious father.

"Luce, its dinner time," Claire - one of her roommates - pointed out hungrily, they'd been gossiping but she'd zoned out from it to focus on her essay until the mention of her name.

"But I'm almost finished," Lucy whined, not wanting to stop and break her concentration when she was just on the conclusion. Instead she gestured back for them to go on, "Just go on without me, I'll catch up."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, just save me a seat. I'm nearly done," Lucy assured her and even without looking knew her friend had shrugged.

"Okay, just don't take too long," Sophie - her other roommate - offered.

Lucy heard the shuffling of footsteps followed by the sound of the door opening and closing to indicate they'd left, she let out a sigh of relief. It wasn't that she didn't like her friends, she just really wanted to be alone with her thoughts sometimes. After all they were muggles not Squibs, she couldn't talk to them about things even if she wanted to, she couldn't even be honest about_ how_ her father had died. She hated that, she hated being torn between both worlds. She wasn't a witch so she could never truly belong there but she also wasn't a muggle so she couldn't truly belong there either.

"They sure do talk a lot, don't they?" a familiar voice commented.

Lucy was in her feet in an instant, spinning so fast her leg hit the desk but she didn't care as she looked at the man sitting on Sophie's bed in front of her. His hair remained short, gray streaking through the messy dark brown and his eyes still looked as if forged from steel, he still wore wizard robes with the Soul Eater's skeletal snake symbol - she'd read it was being called the Shadow symbol now - embroidered into them which marked him as one of them. She still thought he was surprisingly good looking for an older guy probably in his forties, if not for the scar now running diagonally from his forehead over his right eye to the far side of his left cheek as a result of his sister's handiwork. This time he didn't have his wand out and without thinking she stormed over to him and slapped him as hard as she could across the face, he seemed too shocked to stop her.

"YOU KILLED MY FATHER!" she screamed at him, hot tears filling her eyes as she went to strike him again.

He recovered though and this time grabbed her wrist before her hand could reach him, standing to his full tall height and keeping a tight hold of her. He was much stronger than her, she fought to make her arm move but he held it firmly in place. His face was devoid of remorse.

"I wasn't aiming for your father," the man said finally and Lucy wrenched her arm free, he allowed it was no longer aiming for him.

"You still killed him," Lucy protested, choking on her sobs and his face twisted angrily.

"How could I possibly have predicted that little bitch would duck?!" the man spat angrily and jabbed a finger to indicate his scar, "You see what she did to me?! Do you know how much that curse hurts?! I get chronic migraines now! Do you know how painful that is?! Do you know how humiliating it is?!"

"Well that's not my fault," Lucy pointed out, angry that he could dare seem mad at her when he'd killed her father.

"Wasn't it? I was there for you."

"How could I possibly have predicted that Molly would do that?!" Lucy snapped at him and he smirked, she realized how similar her words had been to his.

"You see how illogical your logic is?" the man offered but she said nothing.

"What do you want?"

"Same thing I wanted before, an answer."

"Can't I speak to someone else?" Lucy demanded, wiping her eyes and folding her arms.

"No," the man stated firmly as he crossed his arms himself, "I'm the highest ranking not in Greece or busy being a spy, this goes through me. If you plan on saying yes then you're going to have to deal with me so get over whatever issues if you have, if you're planning on saying no then get it over with already. I have better things to be doing."

"I don't even know your name."

"Selwyn."

"Selwyn," Lucy repeated, glad that her father's killer had a name. Or was he the killer? He had a point, he couldn't help it that Molly had ducked.

"So have you thought about it?" Selwyn said seriously, "You've had enough time. It's now or never this is your last and only chance, to become magical or to live forever as a muggle."

"I have thought about it," Lucy admitted truthfully, despite her grief over her father there hadn't been a single day that had gone by when she hadn't thought about it. Really, she'd made up her mind the moment she'd lied to Molly. It was too good an opportunity to pass up just because they were bad, she couldn't resist it even facing her father's killer. It was her only chance, the only way to be magical, to be a true Weasley, to make her dead father proud like he'd been of Molly. No matter what the cost, "My answer's yes."

* * *

**Part 3: **The Broom Is Mighter Then the Sword

* * *

For the first time in a long time the headlines the next day weren't about the Shadow War or the Shadow Master or PAW or attacks, they were about the black sheep of the Potter family, how the son of the great and famous Harry Potter had been expelled as well as arrested. If it had been rumor before, it was fact now. The other houses were throwing Albus - and Scorpius later heard Lily too - filthy looks, especially Ravenclaws and Slytherins as James had hurt a member of their own house. James' friends also seemed to be getting nasty looks especially Carver as well as other Weasleys to a lesser extent, apparently it was a crime to be related to him or friends with him to any degree.

Normally Albus got along quite well with people but everyone seemed to be avoiding him the next day, muttering under their breaths about whether the rest of the Potters were bad eggs too. One boy would loudly tell anyone who'd listen about how Albus had smashed him in the face with a plate last year for no reason as evidence he was also bad. Their Astronomy lesson - and Latimer's too for that matter - was cancelled that night as Professor Koray was staying with his son, the boy was still hurt very badly. In the wake of all that, Scorpius almost forgot that the day after that was Saturday which was the Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff Quidditch match. Michael apparently did forget and Scorpius had to rush back to the dormitory to get him.

"Michael! Michael! Wake up!" Scorpius hissed, yanking back the drapes to his friend's bed and Michael jolted in surprise.

"G'away and not so loud," Michael moaned, putting his arms over his head and Scorpius thought he smelled oddly like Annie but he didn't have time to dwell on it, "It's the weekend, I don't have to get up."

"It's the Quidditch match!" Scorpius protested and Michael jolted in shock, looking up at him with unfocused eyes.

"What?"

"Quidditch match! You have to get changed and come down now, we have to be up in the air soon!"

"But I've a headache," Michael groaned and threw his head back down.

"We can't cancel the match because you have a headache!" Scorpius yelled at him and Michael flinched.

"Stop yelling, it's too loud and the light is too light," Michael complained and Scorpius hauled him up, "I-"

Michael stopped, his face looking as if the color was being sucked out of it as he bolted for the bathroom. Scorpius followed and paused as he heard loud retching coming from inside, Michael did have a habit of being sick from nerves but still. He staggered back over to the sink to wash his face before coming to get changed, shaking weakly and clutching at his stomach. Even when he was ready and Scorpius led him back out, he kept putting his hands over his eyes as if to protect them from the light. It was raining, sheets of heavy water were shooting down from the sky like a hail of arrows. The grass was slippery underfoot and Michael actually succumbed to it, falling into the mud at one point so Scorpius had to magically clean him up. They only reached the changing room when Michael had to throw up again, Scorpius was beginning to think Michael could be sick and this wasn't the usual pre-match anxiety.

"Alright team, we're all here!" Molly offered with false enthusiasm as she clapped her hands together.

Scorpius glanced at them and saw they were a pitiful lot, Albus was pacing nervously and distractedly, Roxy was looking worried as she skimmed the front page article about James, Carver just looked depressed with his head hung low while Michael lifted his head from the bucket he'd been puking in with vomit still hanging disgustingly down his chin. Latimer was looking determined and focused as he usually did before matches though, he and Scorpius at least were ready. Molly seemed to realize her team was not though.

"Look, I know James' expulsion and arrest has hit hard but we need to focus," Molly said to them and eyes turned to her disinterestedly, "We have a match to play!"

"We're just going to lose," Carver pointed out miserable as Michael dipped his head to vomit again, "Half of us aren't focused, Roxy and I haven't trained together and our star Chaser is puking his guts out. Face it, we're done. We may as well forfeit."

"We're not forfeiting! I know I haven't been the best Captain this term, my... my Dad and it just threw me. It took me awhile to remember how much I loved flying, how much I love being in the air, how much I love testing my skills. All thanks to one person," Molly insisted, looking almost upset as she paused to give Scorpius a grateful look, "This is my last year, my last chance for that and my Dad... my Dad ever wanted that. It may be too much to go out on a win, this has been a bad term with my leadership and James throwing us now. I accept that. But I'm at least going to go out fighting because that's what Gryffindors do and that's what we are. So I'm going to take my new broom, get out on that pitch and I am going to fight whether you choose to follow or forfeit."

"I'm with you," Scorpius announced determinedly, wanting to win for her even more than usual.

"Same," Latimer said with a nod and there was a general nodding of heads that followed.

"I've trained too hard to give up now," Albus added and glanced to Michael as he looked up, wiping his mouth, "You feeling okay, mate?"

"Just nerves," Michael assured them with a strained smile.

Molly retrieved her new broom nervously, having not flown it during practices and Scorpius gave her an encouraging smile that seemed to help. She gave him a kiss as they lined up to file out, heading out onto the pitch when their names were called. Scorpius thought he heard Michael complain about the noise as they walked out to a surprising amount of booing rather than cheering, usually it was quite even but apparently James' actions stained Gryffindor itself and the other three houses all seemed to be firmly on Hufflepuffs side. Scorpius decided that people were too fickle for their own good.

Molly went over to shake hands with the Hufflepuff Captain, a burly boy who looked like a Seventh Year. As they went to mount their brooms and take off, he heard laughter and glanced around to see Michael had fallen just after mounting his broom. Scorpius was really starting to worry that it was more than nerves, maybe his headache was a sign of a more severe illness. He really wanted Michael to go see Marigold, maybe he could ask the healer to try speak to him when Michael was there for the full moon next week. Wait, could it be the full moon? He didn't think so, Michael didn't even need to start taking Wolfsbane until tomorrow. He tried to push it out of his mind to focus on the match though as the balls were released, Mr Krum throwing the Quaffle up into the air. For once, Michael wasn't the fastest to get it.

Scorpius quickly saw that Michael was dead in the air. His movements were sluggish, he fumbled passes and botched throws, he was so unfocused that Latimer accidentally hit him in the head with the Quaffle at one point. He usually made a point to ignore the distracting commentator but even he - and even over the pouring rain - noticed her mocking comments about Michael's abysmal performance, Albus was doing better than he was. Latimer was clearly the star of the Chasers that day, the Hufflepuffs were only mediocre. The Hufflepuff Beaters were doing better though, Carver and Roxy weren't bad but they hadn't trained to be on together and lacked the co-ordination that James and Carver had had together. They frequently tried to hit the same Bludgers or both tried to hit the same person, the Hufflepuffs worked well together and were doing a good job of impeding the Chasers - mostly stopping Latimer who was carrying the trio - as well as picking off Michael who couldn't dodge for the life of him despite never being touched by a Bludger before in his life.

On the other hand, the Keepers were both stars. Molly's new broom was like a shot from a canon, so fast that she veered too far accidentally for an easy save early on but that was all. Hufflepuff were not to score again the rest of the match, she darted around like a crimson blur blocking the Quaffle this way and that with a fierce determination rivaled only by the opposing Keeper. Vern seemed as focused as last time, throwing himself into it with as much vehemence as Molly to block Latimer's impressive string of shots although a couple did get in. Idly, Scorpius wondered if the rain made it harder to grasp the Quaffle as well. It was going to be a long slow game for someone to get ahead, unless someone caught the Snitch. He and Orous were both scanning the pitch, eyes darting through the raindrops for a glint of gold. They may be good friends off the pitch but on the pitch, Scorpius wanted to win for Molly and he'd be damned if he let her down. He thought of how upset she'd been over her Dad, crying against him over Christmas as he held her... She needed a win, she _deserved_ a win.

Scorpius didn't waste any time, he really couldn't with the rain pounding down on him making it harder to see and droplets kept dripping from his hair into his eyes unhelpfully as well. First time he spotted a flicker of gold, he dived in a different direction for the practiced feint. As expected, Orous lunged after him instead of turning his head the fraction of an inch he'd intended which would have brought the Snitch into his eye line. Orous caught up surprisingly quickly but Scorpius hoped it would still work as he pulled up, Orous tried to do the same a second too late and his broom handle caught on the muddy grass. It got stuck and Orous was thrown off it, Scorpius could only hope the dampened ground would dampen the fall as he surged towards the Snitch like a precisely aimed arrow and snatched it away in a second now that he was clear of opposition.

"And Malfoy catches the Snitch unhindered after that sneaky feint, Gryffindor wins 170 to 10!" the commentator had to yell over the relentless sheet of rain, the disappointment and even irritation at the win still heard in her voice. Had she always been that biased or had James really wrecked Gryffindor's popularity that much? Or was it just the team specifically since James had been on it? Scorpius tried to pay it no mind as he landed, offering Orous a hand up.

"You alright?" Scorpius asked the albino with genuine concern, Orous was now stained by mud and grass but seemed unhurt.

"Yeah," Orous nodded, looking somewhat disappointed but gave him a smile regardless, "Good catch."

"Thanks," Scorpius offered as Orous retrieved his broom, yanking it out of the mud, "Guess we're even now."

"Until next year," Orous pointed out and Scorpius nodded in agreement, giving each other a friendly wave as they headed back to their locker rooms.

Winning did seem to have cheered his team up, Molly was beaming despite seeming surprised. Roxy, Albus - for the first time since Thursday - and Latimer all wore smiles, Carver did too albeit it weakly as if the victory was bittersweet. Except for Michael, he was looking rather down.

"I'm really sorry," Michael apologized guiltily, "I'm just not feeling well, I couldn't play right."

"Don't worry about it," Latimer brushed it off as he clapped him on the shoulder, "It's not like you got sick on purpose."

His words seemed to have the opposite effect on Michael who looked even more crushed with guilt and trudged off into the showers, Scorpius hoped he'd feel better soon. They headed back to the castle and Scorpius noticed they were getting more dirty looks from non-Gryffindors for winning then they were smiles from Gryffindors from winning, Molly didn't seem to notice though as she chatted away to him excitedly about tying with Ravenclaw for the lead in points right now although Slytherin could still be in the running considering how many goals they'd scored against Ravenclaw. Despite not being one for the victory parties, Scorpius was nonetheless surprised to find that one wasn't held for their win against Hufflepuff. Still, at least they had one and Molly was in better spirits for it, also delighted about her broom's performance. So good spirits in fact that she took to the room so they could snog in private, completely obliterating all thoughts of the school's atmosphere from his mind in favor of her soft lips and the smell of cherries.

March trekked on though with a seemingly unending amount of rain bearing down on them, the snow had melted and it was just rain. And work, Scorpius still found himself exceedingly busy. Molly had trimmed the amount of practices back to a more average frequency, however they were still there as Easter was quite late that year so they wouldn't have that much time after the Easter break to train before their final match. Plus Carver and Roxy needed to get used to working as a team, Molly also had Abby practicing a lot more to replace Michael if he was ill again when they had a match. Then there was the OWL work which showed no sign of slowing down, if anything now the match was out of the way they had even less excuse to not drown them in homework to prepare them. On top of that, Scorpius also now had to set aside time a week to teach Antonius which was tedious and he really wasn't a hundred percent sure how to teach anyway. Mostly he just had Antonius practice spells, ensuring he had the right wand movements and words and correcting him if he did wrong, offering advice. Scorpius always felt like he should be doing more.

He was doing better with his animagi training, things were still happening like skin changes or colors or furs. He also kept getting claws now, horns and a particularly painful hoof that he had to untransfigure himself. He also had his weekly Occlumency sessions with Maurice were he continue to make progress, it was so easy to block Maurice out now that he wondered how he'd ever thought it was difficult. Maurice had actually moved on now to trying to get him to do more advanced techniques to only suppress particular things to make the Legilimens only know certain things, Scorpius was having more limited success with this. He found emotions a lot more difficult to suppress then memories or thoughts, he tended to either block Maurice out completely or not block him out enough. It was a work in progress.

"Latimer's the same," Maurice pointed out after one of their sessions where Scorpius had done particularly badly, sounding very dismissive, "It's harder to do the specifics, he's pretty much in the same places as you except he's better at repressing emotions and worse at repressing thoughts."

"What about the others?" Scorpius asked curiously, thinking of Michael and wondering suddenly if Maurice might've picked up a hint of what was wrong.

"Molly's excellent at it, she struggled a bit after Christmas but she's doing great now. In fact, she's doing so well that she's practicing Legilimency not Occlumency now. It's actually quite interesting, she says Legilimency is much easier but I find Occlumency much easier. Either way, she's excelling at that too, she's a natural," Maurice explained readily, "Michael's also doing great, ever since we got back from Christmas he's excelled. I thought he wasn't doing well for a while until we realized he was blocking specific things from me instead of blocking everything, once we figure that out the easier complete blocking became much easier. He's not even having sessions anymore, I'm taking Cassia twice a week instead. She's the furthest behind but considering her young age, I'm pleased with her progress and she's resisting quite nicely now."

"Did you happen to see anything about maybe why he's sick or his headaches or strange behavior?" Scorpius inquired and realized Occlumency could be the cause for a second, Maurice had stopped having sessions with him so that was a definite no, "Anyway I can help him?"

"No, if anything I'm pretty sure that's what he was trying to block."

Michael's behavior only seemed to worsen, he seemed to recover after the match and for the rest of the week only seemed to be succumbing to the usual full moon fatigue. After that though, Scorpius noticed his morning headaches returning but they were more than that. Like with the Quidditch match, he was physically sick sometimes in the mornings and seemed as shaky which wasn't what was usually associated with migraines. Scorpius was convinced it was stress, Michael's grades had dropped so much that teachers were taking him aside outside of lessons to speak to him about it. He wished they wouldn't, pressuring him about the importance of exams wasn't going to ease his stress levels. Rose and Albus were still pretty distracted with James' arrest, Maurice was terrible at detecting abnormal human behavior and they hadn't been spending much time with the Fourth Years lately because of OWLs but Abby, Molly and Latimer also noticed. Apparently he also could be in weirdly cheery moods during the prefect rounds as well.

James continued to make the papers and Scorpius could usually tell when he had, it increased the amount of dark looks the Weasleys and especially the Potters got. Scorpius found himself hoping James was given a hefty sentence, he knew he was his friend's brother but he didn't care. He tried but he didn't. Seeing Antonius lying in that hospital bed had struck a nerve, there was no excuse for that on top of all the other crap he'd pulled over the years. And more recently even, Latimer had taken to trying to comfort Byron and often complained angrily about the atrocious things James had put him through. It also wasn't until the week of the next Hogsmeade trip - the last week of March - that he noticed Pollux Koray walking about again, he still looked ill and walked slowly as if it fatigued him or seeming short of breath. He also looked rather sad.

Carver was the only one of James' cronies that Scorpius had regular contact with, thanks to Quidditch practices. He seemed to have mellowed with age and strangely wasn't all that bad without James, he didn't seem to care about his friend's feuds or hatred for Slytherins. He did seem rather lonely though, seeming to be hanging out by himself now but looking oddly focused. He was reminded oddly of when Maurice had thought he as a Shadow, he heard Maurice complaining about that for a while. Mostly Maurice remained focused on the OWLs he'd been thrown into preparing for, often landed with more work than them considering he'd missed the first term of Fifth Year and the last two of Fourth Year. He was still dating Lenore although Rose seemed to thankfully have shut up about it, even Albus had given up doing more than throwing loathing looks Sequoia's way in concern for his brother instead or possibly guilt. James' trial was set to take place over the Easter break so Albus and Lily would be there for it, or at least home as he wasn't quite sure how trials worked.

"Alright class," Professor Ashain began on their single lesson on Monday the week of the Hogsmeade trip, looking somewhere between nervous and enthusiastic, "It's a special lesson today and what I'm going to teach is optional. This is Defense Against the Dark Arts, yes I teach you so that you'll hopefully pass your OWLs but I also teach you so that should the unfortunate time come when you have to defend yourself from the Dark Arts that you can. What I'm going to speak about today has absolutely nothing to do with OWLs, it will not be part of the examinations in any way and you're not expected to know it. I'll be speaking about two spells Aurors use, spells that can do a lot of damage hence why they're not on exams. But in a duel with a dangerous dark wizard intending to kill you, you _want_ to do a lot of damage and these spells are more difficult to block than your average spell. Yes, Rivers?"

"Are we learning Unforgivable Curses?" Maurice questioned from Scorpius' right, on his left Michael lifted his head up from his hands to scowl at the loud noise. Maurice was positively brimming with delight at the thought as he clutched his translator necklace tightly.

"No, it's not the Unforgivable Curses. They're highly illegal to non-Aurors let alone difficult to produce for the average wizard," Professor Ashain said firmly and Maurice looked almost disappointed but none the less kept his focus on their teacher, "So anyway, because this veers away from OWL level curriculum it's optional. Anyone who doesn't want to give up a single lesson to focus on this has the option of moving to the back of the class and getting on with homework or studying, please do that now."

No one moved. On the contrary, every face looked unusually rapt with attention.

"Is everyone interested?" Professor Ashain wondered seeming surprised.

"Who wouldn't be interested in learning a secret special Auror technique?" Knight blurted out excitedly and sheepishly raised his arm as if to appease the fact he'd spoken out of turn, Professor Ashain scowled at him but continued on regardless.

"Alright then. So these spells while different actually have a lot in common, they're also quite similar but quite a bit more severe than the Severing Charm you already know as all three are designed to cut. The two curses are the Acutus Curse and he Sectumsempra Curse," Professor Ashain waved his wand lazily and the curse names wrote themselves in chalk onto the board, "Acutus is likely derived from the Latin word 'acutum' meaning sharp, it's very old and is likely a darker version of a more crude cutting spell then the Severing Charm. Sectumsempra is much more recent, likely derived from the Latin word 'sectum' meaning cut and 'semper' meaning always, it was invented by former Headmaster Severus Snape during his school years. Now both work in a similar fashion as both do not have a wand movement, instead you slash your wand as if it were a blade and where your wand slashes is where the wounds would appear. Allow me to demonstrate."

Professor Ashain then had them move their desks to the side to give him more space, giving him a large empty gap in the center of the room. He then conjured a crude but nonetheless effective wooden dummy on a stand to demonstrate on, he made sure no one was near him - and said nothing to his children who had both abandoned their work to watch with interest, even Antonius - before using the Sectumsempra Curse. It left a diagonal slash on the dummy in line with where he'd moved his wand, much like the Acutus. He then did it a few more times at a few more angles, likely both so that everyone could get a look and to show how his wand direction changed the direction and lengths of the slashes.

"Do you see what I mean about the angles?" Professor Ashain asked the class as a whole and there was an assortment of nods, "Now this is where the curses vary, _Sectumsempra_ has a standard depth of penetration. If I wanted it to cut deeper or shallower then I have to focus on that as I'm casting the spell, the spell is easier to use but harder to change the depth for. The spell is also simpler, wounds caused by it can be healed easily. However it can still easily be fatal depending on how fast they get help and the placement of the wound, any limb won't grow back if severed by the curse but the original limb may be reattached if they can get help fast enough. This is how the Acutus Curses is different."

Professor Ashain strode over to the dummy and swirled his wand around it, the wood scored by the spell melded back together to be smooth once more. He then made sure no one was near again before demonstrating the Acutus Curse, also doing it multiple times from multiple angles to show them all.

"Now it looks pretty similar in how it inflicts damage but is actually quite different, like the Patronus Charm your mental state is very important when casting it. Anger and frustration is what fuel this spell though, the more rage you feel or focus on for the spell will make it more powerful and will cut much deeper. Likewise, if you feel less anger then the spell won't cut very deep at all. The spell itself is harder than _Sectumsempra_ but feeling more or less rage requires less thought and effort so changing the depth is easier to change, however it is not to be used lightly. The reason it's harder is because it's more complex, wounds cannot be healed easily as healing spells do not have any effect. Quite the opposite, the spell it designed to _worsen_ when attempts to heal it are made which is why it is quite nasty. Often in battles back in medieval times, people who survived _Acuta_ would die when attempts were made to heal them. Observe what happens when I use the same spell that I used to fix up the damage done by _Sectumsempra_."

Professor Ashain approached the dummy again, swirling his wand around in the exact same motion as he had before. However the effects were clearly different, instead of repairing the cuts in the wood visibly deepened and even widened slightly. Scorpius glanced guiltily at Michael beside him, his friend thoughtlessly running his fingers over the vertical scar running down his face. The one Scorpius had given him. Scorpius had his own scars from it as well, wounds still scarred onto his feet from when possessed-Varanian had slashed him.

"You see how it only makes it worse?" Professor Ashain asked and there was another assortment of nods, "The more healing spells you use and the more powerful they are, it will only worsen. The Acutus Curse is not to be taken likely because you cannot take it back. It causes more pain as well,_ Sectumsempra_ is like being slashed by a sword while _Acuta_ is more like being slashed by a sword on fire. Another big difference and furthering the sword comparison is _Sectumsempra_ can be blocked by a regular shield but _Acuta_ can only be blocked by another Acutus Curse, slashing across its pathway or obviously throwing an object in its path. Do well to remember that."

* * *

**Part 4: **Rutherford's Revenge

* * *

Professor Ashain would only let the try the spells out on the dummy but Scorpius still succeeded on both counts, well he knew he was already capable of the Acutus as he - and some of his friends - had used it on more than one occasion. Surprising things were not done in Defense Against the Dark Arts for the week though, the next lesson was the Patronus lesson on Wednesday although now he tended to split it in half for revision and only half for Patronuses. Michael couldn't conjure anything at all, he'd had to be drug out of bed and not even feeding Fire Crabs in the morning seemed to have snapped him out of his groggy, shaky headachy state. Not even when Albus had almost singed by one, leaving the younger Potter boy most irate.

"I can't wait to drop that bloody class next year!" Albus protested as he furiously waved his wand to appear to be doing something, Michael flinched from the volume of his voice and buried his head back in his arms as he'd given up after several tries of failure. Why did he only seem ill in the mornings? "Don't get me wrong, Hagrid's awesome but his classes are going to get me killed one of these days."

"I kind of like his classes," Scorpius pointed out truthfully, he liked learning about the creatures and doing things. He didn't really care about the danger.

"It's useful," Maurice added, he tended to keep a hand on his necklace and bounce between translating and practicing. Scorpius hadn't seen the prodigy do more than a shield, "You know, in case you ever have to fight any of those things."

"It doesn't matter if you like them," Rose insisted from the row behind, she also had yet to do more than a shield, "What matters is that you take on NEWTs that are best for your career."

"Not careers," Scorpius groaned and the Thestral Patronus he'd been trying to make talk disintegrated as he pulled at his hair in frustration, he still hadn't been able to do that, "Why is that what people obsess over? Who even has a career in mind at this point, especially with the war?"

"I do. I want to work at the Ministry, I'm not sure about the department though."

"Well... You're you. Surely the rest of you don't?"

"Potions is my favorite subject," Albus pointed out and gave a nonchalant shrug as if trying not to make a big deal out of it while his face suggested otherwise, "I was thinking about being a Potioneer or maybe to teach it."

"Okay fine, maybe those with Weasley blood are just especially organized."

"They more be more organized but I have been thinking about it," Abby admitted, also on the row behind him with Abby, "There's a few options I have in mind, I always wanted to be a Herbologist but I also think being an Arithmancer could be quite good or Grant mentioned I'd make a good Metal Charmer which sounds quite interesting. I'm looking forward to talking it over with my Dad when we have the Career Talks after Easter, there'll be pamphlets with more information too he says."

"Well what about you, Michael?" Scorpius asked, starting to feel frantically worried that he alone seemed to not have a stupid career.

"What about me?" Michael muttered raising his head.

"What do you want to do as a career in the future?"

"I don't have a future."

"Well it you did," Albus prompted and Michael rolled his eyes.

"A Healer, possibly a Mediwizard if I'm too dumb for Healer."

"Mediwizards are not the dumb equivalent," complained a voice on the row behind them, Scorpius glanced back to recognize it as... someone Nott. Olivia's brother at any rate, looking rather insulted, "They do a valuable job, they just deal with more immediate injures on the field."

"Three guesses to what you want to do then?" Albus complained of him, eying the one time bully darkly for daring to speak to him but he supposed the fact they were talking to Rose and Abby behind them might have made him think the entire row was open.

"If you're implying that I want to be a Mediwizard then you're correct."

"Well you can do that but I'm going to be an Auror," Knight announced proudly, he was the fourth on the row behind Scorpius, "You know? Put the bad wizards away, follow in the footsteps of cool people like Harry Potter or Professor Ashain and make a difference."

"When I grow up I'm going to be an Auror too," Cassia decided to add excitedly from the small table she sat at with her brother in front of them, Scorpius buried his face in his hands. Was he_ really_ the only one who didn't think about or care about careers? "And then I'm going to be the Head Auror."

"Cassia, what did Dad tell you about interrupting other people's conversations?" Antonius chastised his sister.

"Erm... To not to."

"So don't!"

"Maurice," Scorpius shot out hopefully, looking up again and tapping his friend on the shoulder to get his attention. There was no way Maurice had a real career in mind, "What future career do you have in mind?"

"A soldier," Maurice stated predictably as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"That's not a real job," Rose complained, "Come on, if the war is over and the world is at complete peace and you had to pick a career - a real _career_ \- that wasn't a soldier then what would you be hypothetically speaking?"

"An Auror or a Hit Wizard since that's that closest current wizard professions to a soldier or a job in the Law Department of the Ministry to try to change the laws to make sure there is a wizard army ready in case of attack like there should be," Maurice answered after a moment's thought, "Or a teacher."

"A_ teacher?_!" Rose spluttered out as everyone looked at him in shock at the thought of the war-obsessed boy wanting to teach, Maurice looked taken aback, "_You?!_ A teach- _Why?!_ Why would you do that?!"

"Because I kind of like teaching people," Maurice protested defensively, "And I've been in a school environment my whole life so it's something I'm familiar with it, plus it would be quite boring doing soldier things if there's no one out there to fight. I'm sure how extreme your world is supposed to be."

"Great," Scorpius groaned bitterly, "Everyone has a career plan but me."

"Well you're obsessed with the war, you could be a good Auror," Albus pointed out, Scorpius threw him a disgusted look as he thought how corrupt and unhelpful they are.

"I don't want to be an Auror."

"A Magizoologist then? You just said you liked Care of Magical Creatures," Rose offered.

"That doesn't mean I want a career in it!"

"And a teacher is a more secure position as well," Maurice continued defending his thoughts of teaching, "I'd be less likely to leave Lenore widowed."

"Less likely to leave Lenore widowed?!" Rose scoffed angrily, "You're planning on marrying that stupid girl?!"

"Yes, it's the proper thing to do. We would get married after I graduate and I wouldn't want to leave her a widow, in time we'd have several children and I also wouldn't want to leave them fatherless in your perfect enemy free world. In reality life is dangerous anyway and I'd still be a soldier though."

"What does Miss Perfect think of your plans?"

"Look, Rose, I know you don't like her and I don't care. Except about how you've never apologized. But I like her, she makes me happy in a way I've never been before, a way I never thought I could be. So deal with it," Maurice said firmly before turning back to his work and flicking his wand, "_Expecto Patronum_."

To Scorpius' immense surprise, a silver bird shot out from the tip of Maurice's wand. Compared to Patronus' in general, it was very wispy and more transparent then usual but it was a Patronus nonetheless. Maurice's wrist trembled and he had a look of intense concentration as the bird soared around them, the creature was wavering already but it was still clear. A raven, Scorpius realized, the bird was a raven. The bird vanished and Maurice collapsed shakily onto his chair, breathing heavily as if it had taken a lot of effort. He was smiling though, grinning quite broadly at his success.

"I did it!" Maurice exclaimed happily while Rose's face fell, she was now the only one of them incapable of casting a corporeal Patronus, "I did it!"

Despite being unable to do so again - the first seemed to have worn him out anyway, it was clearly not easy for Maurice - it was still progress and put him a good mood. Scorpius however continued only to feel anxious, even taking to trying to scour medical textbooks for stress related illnesses that effected people mostly in the morning. On Friday though, Maurice's mood was even better and he dragged them from their breakfasts to come look at a notice on the board in the Common Room. For one stupid hopeful second, Scorpius thought it was a signup sheet for counseling and Leebin was returning so he could ask him about mental health stress related issues that effected people mostly in the morning. But it wasn't.

**_ELECTIVE ALCHEMY_**

_Alchemy is a subject taught to NEWT level students, it is only available if there is enough interest to warrant it. Any current Fifth Years interested should sign up here, if there are enough students signed up by Easter then it will be available. Bear in mind it is an entirely new subject and a difficult one, only students with high enough OWL results will be able to take it and it will take up a slot to continue one of your prior subjects. Please remember this is a signup sheet for Fifth Years only, it is unavailable to current NEWT students and those below Fifth Year must wait until they reach that year before having the opportunity to sign up._

The parchment beneath it was blank, no one had signed up yet.

"So what do you think?" Maurice asked them excitedly.

"Why would we be interested in Alchemy?" Albus complained disapprovingly, "There are enough subjects without wasting two years learning something entirely new."

"And difficult," Abby added with a nod of agreement, "That's why its NEWT level only."

"Yeah, it's a pretty pointless waste of time if you're not planning on specializing in it," Rose agreed firmly, "Which I'm not, it's for crazy old people to lock themselves away in solitude doing pointlessly dangerous experiments."

"But Alchemy," Maurice protested with a scowl at their lack of interest.

"But nothing, I'm not wasting my time on it and if you'll excuse me I had breakfast to eat."

"Sorry," Abby offered apologetically before she, Rose and Albus headed out.

"Why are you interested in Alchemy?" Michael asked of Maurice instead.

"Because I've never done Alchemy before," Maurice admitted as he scribbled his name down with the quill attached to the sheet, dangling from a string, "Of all the things I've done, Alchemy isn't one of them. I'm already confident in my other subjects, I thought it would be interesting to do something new and different. Knowledge is incredibly valuable, I'm guessing it's not that popular though so I probably won't be able to."

"Fine, I'll do it," Michael sighed and added his name as well, which he actually managed to spell incorrectly from the little Scorpius could discern from the illegible scrawl as it looked more like 'Nicdeal 2entoid' anyway. Had his Dyslexia really gotten that bad? No wonder he was getting poor marks, "We can always drop out if we change our minds, besides Marigold says you only need five specific NEWTs for Healer and you can take more than five. Going to flunk out of Hogwarts and die anyway."

"No you won't," Scorpius protested but Michael wandered off without another word, he frowned worriedly after him.

"What about you?" Maurice wondered hopefully.

Scorpius glanced back to Maurice and the sheet, debating signing up for Alchemy. In truth he didn't know a lot about it or its uses but he did think it was an outdated dying art, he vaguely remembered the Alchemy teacher Professor Fintan from his First Year days as Calderon's assistant. The guy had seemed pretty nice despite what Rose had said, although he definitely could've won an award for the most wrinkles possible squeezed into his papery flesh. Scorpius would guess they'd probably hire him again, although it was still entirely possible there'd be a new teacher. Hadn't Varanian been an Alchemy professor for a while too? In fact, hadn't he mentioned enjoying the subject? Maybe it wasn't so bad, he could try talking to him about it. Plus Michael was right, he could always cross his name off if he decided he didn't like it or didn't want to do it. Scorpius picked up the quill and added his name to the list as well. It was quite a good Friday after that, everyone was really just looking forward to the Hogsmeade trip the next day and even Michael didn't show signs of his stress-illness that day. The only thing of note was Rutherford's speech.

"Hogsmeade is a time honored tradition for Hogwarts students but it is not without risk as we are aware," Rutherford began at dinner that day, pacing restlessly in front of the hall. He could've sworn Rutherford glanced at one of his legs oddly as he spoke, "So to ensure nothing illegal or dangerous is procured and brought in as a threat to security, anyone going will have to be willing to have their things searched to ensure there is nothing to risk the safety of you or anyone else."

Scorpius rolled his eyes at this, another stupid measure. Not that he was worried, he had nothing to hide beyond the Portkey ring and the map. Neither of which was likely to be discovered as he could wipe the map and the ring hid in plain sight on his finger at all times, Maurice would have to hide the Polyjuice but they had a room and a day's warning for that now. Molly was actually going to Hogsmeade this time however it was to hang out as friends and relax rather than a date, in general that seemed to be the way things were going for the last day of March. Orous and Maurice were going with Lily and her friends, August, Hugo and Lorcan, apparently Lenore had stuff to do. Vern was going with his girlfriend Olivia and some of her friends, only Albus and Abby were going on official dates with Grozda and Sequoia. That meant Scorpius would be with just Molly, Latimer, Corin and Rose as Michael again refused to come.

"Forget work, mate," Albus pleaded of Michael the morning of the trip, Scorpius was glad he wasn't the only one to notice Michael's stress, "That stuff is stressing you out enough as it is. Just come to Hogsmeade and relax."

"No," Michael insisted, "I don't_ like_ Hogsmeade, it's not relaxing for me there. I can relax here."

"But you'll be alone here. Wouldn't you rather be with your friends?"

"I'll see you guys later," Michael brushed it off, flopping down onto his bed and Albus rolled his eyes.

"Fine, we'll see you later."

"Have fun," Michael called after them as they left him there in the dormitory.

"We've got to figure out a way to get him out of his funk," Albus commented to him as they strode out of the Common Room and headed down the Grand Staircase.

"I know," Scorpius sighed, "But he brushes me off whenever I offer to help him or anything."

"That boy's too proud and stubborn for his good."

Scorpius said nothing but found himself in agreement, he wished Michael would just talk to him so he could help. They headed outside where permission slips were being checked, they'd eaten breakfast before going back to try convince Michael one last time. He bade his friend goodbye as he headed off for the date he'd spent hours trying to comb his hair for, which was immediately destroyed as he ran a sweaty nervous hand through it unthinkingly. It wasn't raining which was a rarity, the ground was still wet though and the clouds rather ominous. It was also cold but it battered off his leather jacket quite nicely as Scorpius joined up with Molly, Latimer and Rose, waiting for Corin - who had to wait longer to get his slip checked as they went by years - before heading off. His fingers intertwined with Molly's naturally, she was wearing her favorite suede jacket, jeans and a colorful knitted scarf that had likely been a gift from the woman who shared her name. They talked easily amongst themselves and with Latimer, Corin and Rose seemed to be lagging behind to talk to each other slightly out of earshot though. They'd been spending a lot of time together lately with her tutoring him and the detentions for poisoning Lenore before that, he'd guess they'd gotten closer now.

"So where to first?" Scorpius asked no one in particular as they reached the outskirts of the village.

"Hog's Head," Molly and Latimer said in unison.

"Three Broomsticks," Rose and Corin said in unison at the same time as the other two, the four exchanged a look but it was Molly who spoke first.

"Well I guess we could try the Three-"

"No," Corin interjected immediately, "You shouldn't have to miss out on your favorite hangout."

"So does that mean we're going to the Hog's Head?" Latimer wondered curiously with an eyebrow raised.

"Well we shouldn't have to miss out on our favorite hangout either," Rose insisted and flicked her long red hair back over her shoulder, she had down whenever she went to Hogsmeade instead of the usual ponytail for classes, "I propose we split up. Those of us who want to go to Three Broomsticks can and those who want to go to the Hog's Head can."

"But the whole point is we go together," Scorpius protested.

"We can meet back up later," Corin pointed out unconcerned, "We all just have a drink in our respective locations and get out of this cold, meet up say... an hour later outside Scrivenshaft's? I'm sure we could all use some new ink at this point, I'd also like some new quills. I go through them quite frequently."

"Um... Sure," Latimer agreed hesitantly as he scratched his chin, "I do need ink as well."

"Let's make it an hour and a half though," Rose added, "To account for walking time."

"Why not?" Molly offered throwing her hands up defeatedly to which Rose and Corin nodded in acknowledgement, walking off without another word. The three left also continued on towards their own destination, "Well that was weird."

"Was it just me or did they seem kind of eager to get away?" Latimer wondered.

"I don't know, it was odd though," Scorpius admitted and continued on, the conversation moving on. They were in sight of the pub before he was distracted by a familiar voice.

It was Maurene, Leebin's daughter. She seemed to be playing with a girl her own age with pale blond hair tied back, Maurene was agreeing to let her play with her doll. She handed it over and the girl cuddled it in delight before thanking her, Maurene grinned before 'tagging' her and the pair began running in circles in the street. They accidentally ran through a puddle left by the rain amongst the cobblestones and were instead distracted by the splash, they giggled and started jumping in it instead happily.

"CLARISSE!" an unfamiliar voice shrieked just as he was about to turn his attention away from them, the blond girl froze as did Maurene in confusion. A woman stormed over to the little girls from a nearby house, tall with the same pale blond hair and looking much like an older version of the girl except with blue eyes instead of gray. Scorpius would guess the mother of the girl who was likely named Clarisse, she snatched the blond girl's hand and yanked her away from Maurene with an expression of fury, "Clarisse, what have I told you about playing with the Leebin girl?! We don't associate with werewolf scum or their offspring!"

"There's nothing wrong with being a werewolf," Scorpius shot out before he could stop himself, angered at the prejudice. Especially since Maurene wasn't even a werewolf herself, just her mother and brother. Then again, Molly had been shunned because of her sister's status as a Squib. Either way, Clarisse's mother eyed him as if he'd said the most grievous of insults.

"When you have kids, you can raise them how you want but I'll be damned if I let my little angel associate with dog children!" Clarisse's mother scoffed stiffly before dragging her daughter back to the house she'd come from, leaving Scorpius slightly confused by the word children.

"Dog children?"

"That's what they call werewolves. Dogs," Maurene provided for him, fidgeting idly, "Or mongrels. Or mutts. Or a word that is beginning with 'b' that Mummy says I'm not s'posed to repeat."

"Who says that?" Scorpius wondered in shock.

"People," Maurene shrugged staring at her splashed boots, prodding the puddle with them, "People who know Mummy and Lysel are werewolves, a lot of people aren't nice to Mummy since she was a werewolf now. Sometimes they throw things at the door or say meaner things or spit at Mummy, it's like that since the attack was."

"Geez, people are-" Latimer started to say but stopped, apparently thinking whatever word he'd been about to use was inappropriate to utter in front of little ears, "Not nice."

"I know," Maurene agreed as she looked back up suddenly hopefully as she smiled, "But some are nicer. Do you three want to play with me?"

"Err... No, sorry kid. We were about to go get a drink in there."

"Alright, have fun Scorpius and other people," Maurene offered dismissively and skipped away while they continued on.

"Who knew people were still so anti-werewolf?"

"Well, I guess it is Hogsmeade. They were the ones attacked by an army of werewolves after all so they're probably going to have the hardest time with it," Molly pointed out as they headed into the Hog's Head, "My Dad said people think werewolves are the ones who wiped out PAW, proving they're vicious still and causing people to dislike them even more. That's why they want to arrest Varanian - who they believe did it - to show it wasn't werewolves to try get them back to being treated properly."

"I didn't know," Scorpius admitted as they headed over to the bar to order.

"Who was that girl anyway?"

"Leebin's daughter, our Mothers are friends."

"Excuse me!" a shrill voice shrieked and Scorpius spun in surprise to see Clarisse's mother striding over to him, Maurene's doll in hand and shoved it into his hands as she reached them, "That girl gave that thing to my Clarisse, I'd like you to return it. I won't have objects belonging to dog children in my house."

"Why don't you return it?" Scorpius wondered incredulously at the demand.

"I tried but the Leebin girl already left. Since you have no problems with dogs, you can return it," the woman said and Scorpius eyed her darkly, despising the prejudice and disliking her in general, "If not I'm chucking it in the trash so whatever, it's your choice. I don't really care."

"Fine. I'll take it back but werewolves are still people, there's no danger being around them or people related to them."

"Well _people_ like them killed my husband so forgive me for not wanting my angel orphaned," the woman spat and turned on her heel, stalking off without another word.

"Still no reason to be a bitch about it," Scorpius muttered and glanced at the doll in his hands, sighing at the errand he now had to run.

"Want us to go with you?" Molly offered readily but he shook his head, there was no point in all of them wasting time on it.

"No, you guys just save me a seat and I'll catch up."

"Do you even know where she lives?" Latimer asked and Scorpius nodded slowly, he recalled seeing Myriam Leebin heading into a house before but it was back nearer the entrance.

"I have an idea but I'm hoping to catch up with her before she gets back home," Scorpius admitted and gave them a wave of farewell as he headed off.

Scorpius assessment turned out to be quite accurate, he found Maurene going in the direction he'd guessed and returned the doll. Maurene was delighted and despite being reluctant to go in the first place, he ended up walking her home. She was pretty young and considering the way Clarisse's mother acted, he wasn't so sure she should be wandering around Hogsmeade alone and didn't want anything to happen to her. It was fine though and he headed on back to the Hog's Head, hoping it wouldn't be the last time he was walking through town uselessly and then he saw a sight that shocked him so much he had to do a double take. It was Corin and Rose, only they weren't in the Three Broomsticks but rather a little cafe place that was quite crowded so they were on one of the outside tables. What was odd though wasn't that, it was that they were kissing. Full on kissing, lips locked and arms wrapped around each other.

"What are you doing?" Scorpius blurted out in shock and the pair leaped away from each other, looking surprised themselves.

"Nothing. What-What are you doing?" Corin lied stupidly while Rose sighed.

"Look, we're... we're kind of dating," Rose admitted hesitantly, "We had to spend a lot of time together in detentions."

"And we realized we have quite a lot in common, like we're both studious."

"And we're both lonely."

"And one thing led to another."

"So we're kind of dating now."

"It's not like we're doing anything wrong."

"We both can't be with the people we want to be with."

"If there's nothing wrong with it then why is it a secret?" Scorpius demanded of them both, not entirely sure that dating your friend's ex-boyfriend was alright.

"Because Abby," Rose said quietly and nervously, "We're only just getting along after... after the whole prefect thing and I'm scared this will screw it up."

"You're not going to tell her, are you?" Corin added worriedly.

"You can't keep this a secret!" Scorpius protested although uncertainly, in truth he hadn't the slightest idea what Abby thought of it or what the protocol here was, "Either tell her yourselves or I will, if this is really as alright as you say then you should tell her. Or break up. Think about that."

Scorpius stalked off without another word, not sure if he'd done the right thing or something stupid but he wanted to think. And get back to the Hog's Head to have his damn drink of Butterbeer, he was feeling quite irate between their secret dating - although the tutoring sessions made sense now - or the prejudice against werewolves. He was drawn from his thoughts by a man grabbing his arm.

"Scorpius," a familiar voice on an unfamiliar body said and Scorpius swallowed the retort he was going to give.

"What's up, Varanian?" Scorpius asked of him and Varanian let his arm go, he was now looking like a young weedy man with dark hair who was maybe late teens.

"I don't have a lot of time, I have a lead I need to get back to but I heard something odd I wanted to warn you about," Varanian began, cutting straight to the chase and glancing around to make sure they were quite alone before continuing as they walked, "I heard something about a planned experiment with a Weasley, I have no idea who or what or when or why but I figured it was worth warning you. There's several Weasleys in Hogwarts after all."

"Okay, thanks," Scorpius nodded, feeling suddenly worried for Molly... Hadn't Varanian said Selwyn was angry at having his face slashed by her as well? "I'll pass the word along and keep an eye out."

"Good."

"Anything else?"

"Not really. You?"

"Erm... Didn't you do Alchemy?" Scorpius decided to risk asking curiously as he remembered the sheet yesterday.

"You heard the part I said I was pressed for time?!" Varanian complained at him and Scorpius held up his hands.

"Look it won't take a second, I'm considering it for next year and I could use your advice," Scorpius offered and Varanian rolled his eyes.

"Yes, I did Alchemy."

"Do you think I should it?"

"I don't know, I'm not you. It depends what you like or what you're interested in, there's a lot to it. Too much to say now, see you soon," Varanian answered and activated his ring in the next instant, Portkeying away.

Scorpius sighed but he supposed it was better than nothing and could wait until Easter, he was feeling better about signing up now that he was certain Varanian had done it. If it was worth Varanian's time then it was worth his, he could still always back out and there might not be enough interest for it anyway. He continued on what felt like an incredibly long journey to get to the Hog's Head were Molly and Latimer were waiting for him at a small table in the corner, the grimy but blissfully quiet pub was a welcome sight. He found it hard to believe he'd once disliked the place for being so filthy, although it had been rebuilt now after the Hogsmeade attack and dirt hadn't had as much to accumulate. He joined them and took a welcome gulp of the Butterbeer they'd ordered for him, the liquid filling him with a warmth his extremities lacked from being out in the cold. He was also thirsty, much more then he realized.

"Thirsty much?" Latimer commented with a wry smirk.

"Yeah," Scorpius confirmed as he finally stopped to draw breath, setting the now empty glass and wiping his mouth. The other two had only about a quarter of theirs gone.

"Did you give the doll back?" Molly asked and he nodded as he glanced at his girlfriend, recalling Varanian's warning.

"I ran into Aaron on the way back," Scorpius told them and they looked immediately serious, using the secret name for Varanian in case any of the one patrons or barkeeper Aberforth were listening, "Apparently he heard that a Weasley might be in danger, doesn't know who, what, when or why but it's something to look out for."

"Aberfroth!" a voice called jovially and Scorpius froze, turning to look at the man who'd just walked in. He didn't recognize the voice or the scarred man but it was the way he spoke, the same slur to his words that Michael had had. The man staggered to the bar and giggled, "I mean forth. Why's it forth? Were you the forth? What's th'others called? Aberfirst, Abersecond, Aberthird..."

"Get out of here, Lamb, you're drunk and I'm not serving you again until you pay what's outstanding," Aberforth said seriously over the laughter the man erupted into at his own words while Scorpius felt things falling into place.

"Oh come on," Lamb whined at the denial of a drink, looking suddenly depressed, "Y'know how hard it is to get work now that I'm a dog? I need this, s'only way to cope now."

"Scor?" Latimer prompted and shook his arm, drawing his attention back to them, "Ignore that guy. Did he say anything else?"

"I have to go," Scorpius announced as he stood, "I'll pay you back for the drink but I have to go now."

"Wh-"

Scorpius didn't even let Molly finish her sentence as he left, lost in his own thoughts as he started back to the castle. Michael hadn't been happy when he was in that strange mood, he'd been drunk. Those times he wanted to be alone he wasn't studying, he was drinking. He hadn't been sick at all, he'd been hung-over. Scorpius was running before he realized it, his shoes pounding on the cobblestones as he tore through the village. He probably looked strange but he didn't care, he ran. Michael was probably drinking right now, taking advantage of being alone. Scorpius felt a surge of anger at Michael doing something so downright stupid and all this time he'd been thinking he was sick. He reached the grounds and his feet raced over the slippery grass but he didn't slow down, he kept running and shot up the Grand Staircase when he reached and heard his footsteps echoing as they slapped against the stone.

He didn't stop though, he barked the password at the portrait and bolted up to the dormitory. Michael's drapes were closed but he yanked them open, Michael was sitting there looking panicked but had no bottle. Scorpius hauled him up to his surprise, ignoring Michael's confusion as his eyes scanned for where he could've hidden it. He reached down the side of the bed on the opposite side, Michael tried to pull him back and succeeded but not before his hands clasped around a bottle. Whiskey by the looks of it, Michael froze and his face seemed to drain of all color as he eyed the bottle. Scorpius needed to stay calm, stay calm, and just stay calm.

"DRINKING, MICHAEL?!" Scorpius screamed at him furiously and threw the bottle as forcefully as he could to the ground, it shattered into thousands of pieces as the poison spread across the ground, "REALLY?! WHAT THE _HELL_ DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

"Hey!" Michael protested stupidly, looking upset at the ruined bottle, "That was mine!"

"It shouldn't be yours!" Scorpius yelled at him, "Do you even know what that stuff does to you!? All this time I thought you were sick but you were doing this to yourself! Why would you do that?! How could you do that after Bob?! You're failing your classes! You're failing at Quidditch! All this time I was trying to help you and you're destroying your own life!"

"Well maybe I don't care about my own life!" Michael shot back, trembling as tears filled his eyes, "It's already destroyed- _I'm_ already destroyed and drinking is- drinking makes me feel better."

"Drinking is for cowards!" Scorpius spat.

"Well maybe I'm just a coward," Michael whimpered, his voice cracking as he plopped down on the end of the bed and buried his head in his hands.

Scorpius made an effort to reign in his anger, he was only angry because he cared about him and he still wanted to help him. Screaming at a boy who looked about to break down sobbing might not be the best way, he could yell later but now he needed to... not do that. Scorpius opened his mouth.

"Well hello," an unwelcome voice offered, Scorpius' head swiveled and Michael's shot up to see Rutherford striding in with Calderon behind him, "You boys are back early."

"I didn't even go," Michael pointed out quietly.

"What are you doing here?" Scorpius demanded as Rutherford's eyes drifted to the mess on the floor, thankfully it was unrecognizable as the ruin it was in.

"Haven't you forgotten the contraband check?" Rutherford asked and Scorpius rolled his eyes as he remembered it, he turned out his pockets to prove he had nothing but his wand and the wiped map that he handed to the attaché who looked almost disappointed, "Parchment?"

"Was going to write to my parents about the trip," Scorpius lied and met Rutherford's eyes, erasing his mind of all thoughts but honesty as if he truly was going to use the parchment to write to them. Rutherford scowled as he handed it back to him, Scorpius pocketed it again and tried not to feel pleased at getting away with it, "Are you done now?"

"You might have already stowed something away in your trunk if you haven't smashed it already."

"I brought back a Butterbeer for Michael but stupidly dropped it," Scorpius lied again but kept his thoughts the same, Legilimens were good at picking up lies but Occlumens were good at telling them.

"Then you'll have no problem with your trunk being checked?" Rutherford questioned of him, his expression not giving any indication to whether he believed him or not.

"None, I have nothing to hide," Scorpius said, this time being honest and gestured for him to go ahead. Rutherford snapped his fingers at the bed, glancing at Calderon as if expecting him to search.

"Sorry Scor," Calderon offered apologetically as he started looking through his things, making sure to put them back neatly before rifling through the trunk with equal care.

"It's alright. I really do have nothing and if anyone was going to look through my stuff then I'm glad it's you."

"There's nothing illegal or dangerous here."

"Are you done now?" Scorpius asked as he folded his arms, wanting nothing more to do then get back to his conversation with Michael.

Rutherford looked most irate though, clearly he'd been expecting to find something. Polyjuice probably if he suspected - correctly - Scorpius of using it to escape detentions before so his mind couldn't be read, he had nothing on him now though. The attaché snapped his fingers again - Scorpius really despised how he did that to his cousin - though, this time at Michael's bed.

"Check the dog's," Rutherford commanded of Calderon.

"What?! No!" Michael shrieked fearfully as he leaped to his feet, "I didn't even go to Hogsmeade!"

"Something could've been hidden amongst your things. So hop to it."

"No," Calderon said as if he was a child refusing a command, "He didn't go, not doing it."

"I have the right to search any student's property I want when they're within Hogwarts grounds!"

"Don't care, not doing it."

"You're losing pay over this," Rutherford growled and Calderon looked surprised.

"I get paid?"

"I'll do this myself."

"No!" Michael moaned but Rutherford pushed him roughly aside.

Scorpius wanted him to stop drinking but he also was afraid of him getting into trouble. Surely Michael didn't have more alcohol on him? Or if he did then he must've hidden it for the search? Except... Michael clearly had not expected to be searched because he wasn't going. His friend buried his head in his hands as Rutherford tore thought his things, without care and not putting them back like Calderon had done. Scorpius was quite glad the assistant had searched his things, Rutherford seemed likely to accidentally break something. Finally he threw open Michael's trunk, which housed several bottles of beer and scotch.

"Well, what do we have here?" Rutherford said with a triumphant smirk as Michael raised his head, "Developed a little drinking problem, have we Sanford?"

"No," Michael uttered weakly, whether in denial or just upset by the whole situation Scorpius wasn't sure.

"Alcohol constitutes a major offense and as a prefect, that means it's doubly serious. Not that you'll be a prefect anymore, you'll be stripped of your badge," Rutherford explained, sounding quite pleased while Michael looked absolutely ashamed as his eyes filled with tears, "You'll be in special trouble for this, considering your status I'll be moving for immediate expulsion. Can you imagine how much more damage a drunk werewolf could do then a drunk human? Did you think about that once, you selfish little-"

"It's mine," Scorpius announced before he could stop himself and eyes turned to him in surprise, "I just hid it in his trunk because I didn't think you'd check it."

"You realize that this would still constitute a major strike for you, Malfoy? That makes three for you which is suspension at best, expulsion at most."

"He's lying," Michael protested, apparently determined to ruin his own life, "It's mine, he's just trying to protect me. It's my alcohol, if anyone should face the consequences of my actions then it's me."

"Stop being noble, its mine," Scorpius insisted and Rutherford looked between the two of them, apparently torn between getting rid of the werewolf or the boy hiding Varanian. Finally the dark eyes locked with his gray ones, he walked up to Scorpius and dropped his voice so quiet that only he could hear.

"Tell me where Varanian is and I'll make this go away."

"No," Scorpius stated with absolute clarity and Rutherford stepped back, holding up his hands as if innocent although his words were dipped in darkness.

"I tried to help you, Malfoy, remember that during your suspension."


	13. Chapter 13: From Our Mistakes

_**Parts (52-55)**_

* * *

**V  
**

**Chapter 13  
**

From Our Mistakes

* * *

**Part 1: **Chancing Deals

* * *

Rutherford had confiscated the alcohol - which Scorpius was actually glad for - and took him to the Headmaster's office so Elwood could be told to suspend him, Headmaster really was just an honorary title now. A month. Scorpius was to be suspended for a whole month. Since Easter fell within this month and Rutherford refused to count it as he would be home anyway, it would actually be five weeks not four until he was allowed back to Hogwarts. He knew it could be worse though, Rutherford would've expelled Michael permanently. Considering how angry he'd been at Michael, Scorpius still wasn't quite sure whether his Occlumency had worked and Rutherford believed the booze was his or if he'd just decided to punish him anyway in the hopes he'd cave about Varanian. His parents' reactions were what really surprised him though.

"Alcohol, Scorpius?! Really?!" his father screamed at him almost the second he stepped out of the fireplace back into Malfoy Manor, "What were you thinking?! Don't you know what that does to you?! Didn't we raise you better then to try to foolishly drown your problems in a bottle?!"

"Don't yell at the boy, Draco!" his mother cut him off, Scorpius had been shocked to see her in tears before he swooped on into a tight hug, "It's all our fault, we're so sorry. We're so sorry, Scorpius, we're terrible parents."

"Don't apologize to him, he's the one who did something wrong! You got suspended for a _month_ in your _OWL_ year! Don't you realize how serious this is?! Don't you want to have a future?!"

"Ignore your father, sweetheart," his mother offered she pulled away to look him in the eye, her face still stained by tears, "We're going to get through this, I promise. We're here for you, your studies aren't as important as your health. We just need to focus on getting you sober, helping you recover from your alcoholism."

"I'm not an alcoholic," Scorpius insisted, he had to pretend the alcohol was his to protect Michael but he didn't have to pretend to be an alcoholic but his mother choked on another sob.

"Do you even hear the denial our son is in, Draco? It's a long path to healing."

"Astoria! We need to be firm here!" his father yelled at her irritably, "We've been too lenient with him, that's why he's been able to descend into alcoholism!"

"No! Pressuring him is just going to drive him further into the bottle, we need to be supportive!"

"I'm right here," Scorpius pointed out and his mother gave him a weak smile through her tears as she stroked his cheek like he was a young child, instead of a teenager. In fact, he was taller than her now.

"That's right, you are. Your poor little alcohol infused mind is catching up."

"I'm not drunk."

"Why don't you go to your room and lie down for a bit? Wait to sober off," his mother said, ignoring him.

"Why don't you go to your room and think about what you've done!" his father snapped at him.

"I'm not drunk!" Scorpius protested truthfully, frustrated that they thought that.

"Go to your room!" his parents decided in unison, apparently agreeing on something even if it was for different reasons and said in different tones.

Scorpius heaved a sigh and headed off to his room, hearing his parents arguing behind him as he left. He really didn't like them arguing, especially not because of him. However he could see no way around it, admitting the alcohol wasn't his would put Michael back into trouble. He hadn't expected his parents to be that upset over it, just to yell at him and go back to normal. He couldn't bring himself to regret his actions though. It just made his anger at Michael return, how could he do something so stupid?

His parents eventually decided he should just go to bed with no supper which he took as the perfect opportunity to ring over to Varanian, Roman didn't pop his head out to see him but he saw Varanian's trapdoor was already open and he could hear voices from below before he'd even started down the steps.

"I'd rather be doing Transfiguration then this!" Annie was complaining.

"Patronuses are important, I know it's difficult but you need to keep trying," Varanian was insisting, "Transfiguration isn't going to repel Specters or Dementors, Patronuses are. Now try again, focus on something that's not alcohol that makes you feel emotionally happy."

"Emotions are stupid and magic that requires it is stupid, there has to be some other way."

"There isn't, that's the point!" Varanian protested, he was sitting on a chair watching Annie presumably struggle to cast a Patronus as she stood in the center of the room. Until they noticed him though, the metamorphmagi scowled in confused while Annie took the opportunity to snatch up a bottle of beer to drink from, "What are you doing here?"

"I got suspended so I figured I may as well come here to do useful stuff," Scorpius offered lamely and Varanian's scowl only deepened, he noticed that Varanian was sporting dark black hair instead of his usual tawny color.

"Why did you get suspended?"

"For having alcohol," Scorpius admitted, eying Annie's bottle with distaste but Varanian exploded at him before he could finish his explanation since he saw no reason to lie to Varanian.

"Drinking, Scorpius?!" Varanian yelled at him furiously and rolled his eyes in frustration, "Really?! What the_ hell_ do you think you're doing?! Wh-"

"It wasn't mine!" Scorpius spoke up defensively, holding his hands up to protest his innocence, "It was Michael's, Rutherford searched our trunks and he was going to expel Michael for having it so I pretended it was mine and got suspended instead!"

"Oh, well that's not so bad," Varanian said, sounding incredibly relieved.

"How is that not so bad!?" Annie shot out, looking horrified, "Why was he drinking?!"

"I don't know, I didn't have much time to yell at him before Rutherford barged in and demanded to search our trunks," Scorpius pointed out truthfully while Annie's expression twisted to one of concern.

"Maybe he gets it from you," Varanian stated snarkily and Annie threw him a dark look, her eyes darting between him and the bottle before she headed up the stairs.

"Well you two talk, I'm going and bed," Annie offered in way of an explanation as she left, Varanian watched her go and stared after her worriedly again before sighing.

"Take it you haven't figured out how to get her to stop drinking yet?" Scorpius commented and Varanian shook his head, "Now I've got to get my friend to stop too, didn't think I'd have to worry about that."

"Welcome to my world," Varanian told him before looking panicked by something, his hair became curled, "I mean sort of my world, I wouldn't know whether I would class Annie as my friend. She's definitely a person like how you're a person but not the same kind of person as you! Obviously, a different person to you but I'm not sure how I would class her or you. I don't care that she's female."

"Erm... Good to know," Scorpius said in confusion as Varanian had completely lost him, Varanian seemed to realize this too and his cheeks tinged pink slightly as he cleared his through.

"Anyway, there's not much new on the Shadows. I know they're readying to attack their next target, still trying to figure out where that is though and when because they're pretty tight lipped about it," Varanian explained in his usual more focused tone as he seemed to want to change the subject which Scorpius was glad for as he also didn't want to think about drinking or Michael in that moment, his hair also shifted back to the familiar tawny scruffiness, "So how long were you suspended for?"

"A month. Five weeks if you include Easter."

"Alright, a lot of time to get you training then. Let's go through things you've learned so far so I can see where you are and where you need to go."

Scorpius filled him in on what he knew and how much they'd practiced, in regards to practical magic at least as things like Herbology were pretty irrelevant and only stopped when Varanian would ask him to demonstrate occasionally. He also tested Scorpius' Occlumency skills and Scorpius was quite proud to be able to keep Varanian out of his mind, despite having to blank his unusually busy mind but it helped to stop thinking about what Michael had done. Varanian seemed quite satisfied as well.

"So what do you think?" Scorpius asked curiously when Varanian was done.

"You're pretty good with a knowledge of defensive spells, dueling technique is something I want to work on a little though but mostly I'm going to start you on non-verbal magic. Why not get a head start on it?" Varanian pointed out and Scorpius felt oddly excited at the thought of this, "I'm going to teach you to block _Acuta_ properly as well, I also want to teach you about some protective enchantments and more importantly how to break through them. When I'm out doing... war stuff, you should be able to practice Transfiguration with Wyatt because I believe he's good at it or dueling with Annie, Roman's just strangely withdrawn lately."

"Sounds good."

"And finally," Varanian said with a hint of smile, "I think you're advanced enough to work on the false memory with Occlumency and Legilimency so we can get rid of Rutherford."

* * *

James hated jail. It was just a cell in the Ministry but he hated it, it was filthy and cold, the food was utterly tasteless and he was trapped. He kept expecting to be released any day now, he had parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and yet not a single person was apparently willing to put him up to get him out of prison. No one had even visited him. Showering twice a week was the only time he was allowed to leave his cell and he hated that, they gave him privacy in the shower but not to change. He was now forced to wear prison robes and on top of that still had the humiliation of having to go to the bathroom in a room with bars so anyone could see, Aurors bringing him food or prisoners in other cells. He found it unbelievably degrading and hated being confined, he hadn't been outside in weeks.

And if he was found guilty of the bogus charges then he'd be locked up for even longer, he didn't think he could survive that. He was Harry Potter's son, he didn't belong in a cage like a dangerous animal. Forget about the brats, James was clearly the victim here because what he was going through was far worse than anything he'd done to those slimy, Shadow loving snakes. Their plan to get him locked up so they could carry out their evil had clearly worked and no one cared, they were all allowing themselves into being manipulated and thinking James was somehow in the wrong. There wasn't a day that went by that he didn't cry himself to sleep on top of often crying during the day, grieving for the loss of his freedom and the abandonment of his family. Because they had, they had abandoned him clearly. They didn't care. They never had.

He'd suspected all along and yet it still hurt, for once he hadn't wanted to be right. He felt like it was a physical wound, it hurt so much and even when he tried not to think about it, he still knew he was bleeding out. So much for love and family, they'd just left him there to rot. Cel was the only one he'd seen, of all the family who were Aurors it was Cel who he'd seen. Cel claimed they were just trying to teach him a lesson, scare him straight but he knew Cel was lying just to spare his feelings. He was alone. He was all alone in the world. He felt it even more since the scumbag prisoner who'd had the cell next to him was taken away, leaving him entirely by himself without the lunatic's stream of continuous babble and complaints. It wasn't until April he finally got a visitor and it wasn't someone from his family, he lay on his bed hearing footsteps and assumed it was just more bland food. He didn't move, they'd just slide it in if he pretended to be asleep.

"Hello James," a familiar voice greeted him and James spun in shock, practically falling out of bed but sure enough, Xerxes Seneca was standing there. James scrambled to his feet, stumbling forwards and grabbing the bars to see as clear as possible in the dingy darkness.

"Xerxes? What-How did you even get in here?" James babbled in shock, Xerxes gave him a smile.

"I have friends in high places through the organization I work for," Xerxes brushed it off before his expression turned sympathetic and he too took a step forward so James' eyes locked with the violently violet ones belonging to his friend's father, he looked far too finely dressed to be in a prison area, "I heard about your incarceration, I thought it would be a great disservice if I did not see you in this time of need. If you want to see anyway, with a family as large as yours I'm sure you have plenty of visitors."

"No, actually," James admitted unhappily, averting his gaze while Xerxes' eyes widened in shock, "They just left me here, my family just left me here to rot."

"Really?" Xerxes wondered in surprise, sounding genuinely confused, "What about family sticking by each other? What about blood being thicker than water? What about love? Don't they care the horrific conditions you're having to endure?"

"No, they don't!" James confirmed tearfully and Xerxes looked at him sympathetically, "You're the only one, Xerxes, the only one who's come to see me, the only one who cares and I barely know you. My friend's father cares more about me then my own father, my own family... What is up with that? They preach about always being there yet where are they now when I need them? How could they do this to me?"

"I don't know," Xerxes offered, holding out his hands as if he had nothing, "I'd never do that to my family, I couldn't even do that to my deranged half-brother. But I'm here for you too, I've said before people like you and I should stick together. Although to be honest I'm confused why you're even here in the first place, in my homeland people are arrested for actual crimes not school incidents."

"It's that Slytherin and his cronies, all conspiring against me."

"That Slytherin? And people are believing that slime bag? Shouldn't they know better? He's not even human."

"I know, right?!" James burst out, catching Xerxes eye again as he felt a flood of relief that _someone_ at least was on his side, "How could they believe his lies? Clearly he's exaggerating it all and having his friend play up that injury, Ashain's brat is just trying to destroy my father's reputation. First he gets that fake lightning bolt scar and now he's got me expelled and locked up!"

"And it would only be worse if you're found guilty," Xerxes commented with concern while James felt a stab of fear, he nodded nervously in confirmation, "The way that Slytherin has them eating of his conniving hands, it wouldn't surprise me if you're found guilt. The papers are already condemning you."

"I can't believe this is happening to me," James admitted, tears filling his eyes again as he hung his head, "I'm a good person, I don't deserve this."

"Of course you don't," Xerxes assured him in a soothing tone, "And that's why I came to offer you my help."

"How could you possibly help?" James croaked out, looking back to him and trying to wipe his eyes. He was grateful for the support but he didn't see how Xerxes could help him now, the only people who could were leaving him to rot.

"I told you, James, I have friends in high places through the organization I work for," Xerxes reiterated with another smile, "They'd be willing to make this go away."

"Just like that?"

"Well there is a catch, unlike me they wouldn't be satisfied unless they got something in return. I told you before they'd be interested in hiring you."

"I still want to be a professional Seeker though," James mumbled although as he said it realized how increasingly unlikely that was, he might be ancient by the time he got out of prison. If he ever got out and who would hire a criminal Seeker anyway? Regardless of how justified he'd been, he wouldn't have a future at all if he didn't get out of this, "What did you say the name of the organization you work for was?"

"I didn't," Xerxes stated quite seriously and James waited a minute but he didn't elaborate.

"What are they called then?"

"The Soul Eaters."

James leaped back from the bars as if Xerxes had lit them on fire, backing away as his heart thundered in terror. He didn't stop until his back was against the wall, forgetting foolishly that he had nowhere to run and of course he had no wand, his prison robes didn't even have pockets for one. He didn't take his eyes from Xerxes though, staring at him like he'd never seen him before while Xerxes stood calm as could be. He let go of the bars but made no move to attack him.

"Would you relax?" Xerxes asked of him politely with smile, "I told you, James, I'm here to help you not to hurt you."

"You're a Shadow! All Shadows are evil!" James practically spat at him but Xerxes didn't seem offended.

"The media sure does show us that way but they also show_ you_ that way, you didn't think I was evil a few minutes ago."

"Well you were clearly just pretending! Carver was right about you."

"Carver?" Xerxes repeated curiously, "You don't consider him evil, do you? Despite his being a Soul Eater too."

"He's not a Soul Eater!" James protested defensively but Xerxes merely smiled.

"Guess again."

"NO!" James screamed, refusing to believe his closest friend was one of those.

"Where do you think he learned it all?" Xerxes asked calmly and James was sure the temperature dropped several degrees, "The advanced magic he knew, the things he was aware of. He's lazy not stupid, if you're really his friend you know this. How do you think he could stand against Maurice Rivers? He's been trained at the same place by the same people, the Training Tower is what we Soul Eaters call it and Elites are what the master calls the pupils who've passed. Carver's one of them, one of us. All my children are, I just refuse to allow them to suffer through the blood quill hence the lack of scars."

"Carver..." James said uselessly in shock, it was always true that Carver had known advanced magic and he had dueled Maurice something spectacular. Was his friend really one of them?

"There's more people Soul Eaters then you think, more people you know. Good people."

"Well I'm still not joining you," James insisted in a whisper, still trying to process the revelation.

"May I ask why?" Xerxes wondered conversationally.

"Because you're evil, you're destroying the world!"

"You say destroy, I say we're creating the world. A better world. When buildings are being constructed, do they not have to clear away the garbage in the way first? Is it not a mess until it's completed and you can see all along the beautiful building it was trying to be?"

"I guess," James admitted hesitantly, "But that doesn't mean attacking the world is like that, you're hurting innocent people."

"How is that any different from what you did to those children?"

"They deserved it!"

"Did you ever think maybe these people deserved it too?" Xerxes inquired still calmly and making no move to hurt him.

The Slytherin claimed to have lost his parents to the werewolf army along with his legs which he clearly deserved, he knew Pentakel had lost his parents to Shadows and James had even left him to die because he clearly deserved to suffer for being a Seeker and Captain, Dragon-breath had been turned to a werewolf so clearly he also deserved to suffer for siding with Malfoy. In fact, wasn't Malfoy always fighting the Shadows? Since Malfoy was bad, did that mean the Shadows were really good? But no, they couldn't be.

"The Shadow Master is Voldemort's son, he's evil," James insisted, not wanting to think about whether they had deserved it because some people had.

"People can be different to their fathers, James," Xerxes pointed out, "The master could easily leave you to rot, not bother to care. After all, your father killed theirs. But instead they offer a hand of friendship, to give you a second chance at life because they see potential in you. You said yourself that your family has just left you here to rot, your own father turned his back on you. Who is the bad one here?"

James said nothing but averted his eyes thoughtfully, hating himself for thinking but... well there was some truth to it. He'd never have thought the Shadow Master would be trying to help him yet there Xerxes was and where was his father? Not caring about his pain and suffering that's where, he only cares about those others. He always only cared about those others, never James. They'd abandoned him, everyone he loved had abandoned him. What loyalty should he have to people who abandoned him when he needed them most? What had the world ever done for him? Locking him up, trying to send him to prison. Carver was his best friend, Xerxes was the only one trying to help him. Who was the bad one here? Was it really the Shadows as he'd been led to believe?

"Are you going to kill me if I refuse?" James asked timidly, glancing back up to see Xerxes shaking his head.

"No, if you don't want help then that's unfortunate but we're not going to force you or kill you. This is something for you to decide on your own," Xerxes assured him, sounding truthful, "If you want to refuse and go to jail forever then go ahead, it'll be a great loss to us as much as it is to you. I must be going now so I suggest you make up your mind now, unless you want me to come back when you've had a think."

"Can-Can I have a think?" James questioned as he definitely wanted to think without the Soul Eater there and Xerxes shrugged, giving him a smile as he headed off without another word.

* * *

**Part 2: **Humanity

* * *

_"Tommy, look what I got," Sal offered, sounding oddly cheerful while Tommy gazed at their new prison. A different basement in a different house, except this one didn't have anything in it, "You didn't even look."_

_"What?" Tommy wondered and tore his eyes away from the nothingness to his twin, blinking in surprise as he noticed the wand in her hand, "How'd you get that?"_

_"When you went nuts and I was suddenly downstairs I still had the wand I was supposed to be learning with, just kept it hidden. Master Rodolphus thinks it was destroyed."_

_"Okay but that doesn't explain why," Tommy admitted slowly, trying not to glare at the instrument he was coming to despise, "It's not like we can use it like normal wizards can."_

_"That's where I have a plan," Sal pointed out enthusiastically and he gestured for her to go on, "I think we can't use magic normally like they can because we grew up in Azkaban and that screwed up our magical ability because of the Dementors so I figure that if we can erase our memories of Azkaban then we can undo that damage, we'd finally be able to do magic normally."_

_"You want to erase our memories?" Tommy wondered in horror._

_"Only of Azkaban, it's not like we have fond memories of there."_

_"No worse than torture here."_

_"But we won't be tortured anymore if we can use magic which we can if my plan works."_

_"Fair enough," Tommy agreed thoughtfully, starting to warm up to the idea of losing those horrible memories and maybe finally ridding himself of the Specters as well plus if Sal was right then the torture would stop and life would finally be good. There was still one problem though, "How are supposed to erase our memories?"_

_"One step ahead of you, little brother," Sal informed him with a smirk, "Rabastan mentioned it to me, and the incantation is obliviate."_

_"You're only five minutes older than me."_

_"Five minutes older is still older," Sal protested defensively and Tommy gave a sigh, he supposed she was right no matter now trivial the difference was, "So do you want to try it?"_

_"Yes," Tommy admitted but scratched his chin worriedly, "How is it supposed to work though? Even if we know the incantation, we still haven't been able to use real magic yet."_

_"I think we'll do better without being tortured, besides we can try it together. I mean, surely if we both try the incantation then we'll succeed. Two magic users is better than one, right?"_

_"Makes sense," Tommy confirmed with a nod before grinning, excited at the prospect of things looking up, "We'll still remember ourselves and Mother though?"_

_"We're only forgetting the bad stuff about Azkaban like the Dementors," Sal assured him and he put his hand over hers to hold the wand._

_"Okay, let's do it then."_

_"Okay," Sal returned his smile, putting her other hand over his to hold the wand and he did the same so all four of their hands were on it as it pointed upwards, "So if we just say the spell at the same time and aim it up like this, hopefully it will affect us both."_

_"Hopefully?" Tommy repeated as his smile started to slip._

_"Well I've never done this before and I don't know that much about magic but as long as we focus on what we want, it should work though because spells are just making magic do what we want."_

_"Okay."_

_"Okay on three, obliviate. One, two, three... Obliviate!"_

_Nothing happened._

_"Try again," Tommy insisted, determined not to give up, "One, two, three... Obliviate!"_

_Nothing happened._

_"Again!" Sals snapped, "And really focus. One, two, three... Obliviate!"_

_He felt the wand shake within their hands, their identically dark eyes exchanged a look and they cried together._

_"Obliviate!"_

_This time there was a blast of white light that erupted from the wand from every angle, even shining through the gaps in their fingers. He heard a cry from the guard outside demanding to know what they were doing and he thought the opening of a door, it was lost though in the thrum of the magic. Blinding white light exploded out of the wand in the next instant as the wand blew up, they were both blasted back in opposing directions and Tommy felt himself slam into the wall. That wasn't the painful thing though, he felt as if wires had snaked their way inside his skull, twisting through his fleshy brain and then they were set on fire. Tommy screamed in agony and heard Sal do the same, clawing at his head as the pain in his mind lit up._

_He thought he was dying because he saw his life flashing before his eyes while his skull still seared, in such vivid excruciating detail he relived his past in Azkaban. Every second trapped in an abysmal joyless hell, every second his emaciated body ached for more than the pitiful sustenance the three had to live on, every word his mother spoke, every time he earned another Shadow, even the collective stench of unwashed bodies that he'd never realized before was abnormal, every single icy chill cutting through him, every jolt of pain from the torture, every throbbing bruise, every slice of the knife into his flesh as his mother gave him the Dark Mark, every time Sal had comforted him and spoke of freedom. And then he was back in the present, sitting on the floor up against the wall he'd been thrown against with crimson droplets oozing down the sides of his face from digging his nails so deep into his head. Sal was opposite in the same position and the guard was lying on the ground staring blankly ahead but still blinking to indicate life, Tommy didn't know what had happened but he knew it hadn't worked._

* * *

Byron Knight would never have imagined how different life could be with James gone, it was as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulder. It was actually something to get used to, the thought of walking without needing to take every step in fear and walk with one eye over his shoulder as James' friends had also lost interest with him gone. He had been healed him up wonderfully, even at Christmas the break hadn't been long enough for his bruises to heal entirely but Marigold had erased the incessant ache of his body. He'd been given something to help him sleep for a week so as well because he was so sleep deprived and he was on a pretty strict regimen to regain the weight he'd lost from skipping meals, he'd been allowed to sit next to his brother so Kenelm could make sure he was eating. Slytherins were actually being nicer to him, people he never even met congratulated him on standing up to and getting rid of James who had bullied them before fixated on him.

He was also no longer physically sick with nerves and was taking care of himself again, bothering to wash and brush his teeth. Despite that though, he still found himself struggles with nightmares of James and his stomach start to churn with anxiety thinking of the upcoming trial. He'd been literally shaking when he'd handed his journal over, unable to tell them about James' torture any other way as the words wouldn't leave his lips. He wasn't sure how he'd do at the trial if he could barely muster the courage for that, it didn't help his grandparents thought he should fight his own battles and not get Aurors to help him. His classmates were talking to him again now, his old friends chatting to him in classes again. He wasn't sure what to make of that, they had abandoned him pretty quickly when James had targeted him but could he really blame them for being afraid? He knew what it was like to be terrified of James, he liked to think he wouldn't abandon his friends over it and in fact he'd incurred the bully's wrath for standing up to him but he still wasn't sure where he stood with them. Did he trust them or were they at risk of ditching him again the moment things got tough?

People were being nicer to him in general, like the kind Head Boy taking an interest in making sure he was alright or Grant no longer hassling him. He hadn't forgotten the only person who hadn't abandoned him due to James, Pollux Koray had never turned his back on him and stuck by him. Yet now when things were better, their friendship was worse than ever. Pol had been different ever since he'd gotten out of the Hospital Wing, James had cut him deep. Really deep and because of the spell, it couldn't be healed the way a wound normally would be so Pol had to suffer the consequences of his lungs being permanently damaged, not working to their full capacity. Marigold knew it would improve in time but he didn't know how much, it could be barely any or it could be almost normal but for now it was bad. He couldn't fly anymore which was a blow, he'd been saving up his allowance since the Hogwarts sorting for a racing broom to try out as his parents had agreed to pay half if he earned the other to prove his responsibility. He had to be careful with not breathing in too much dust or smoke, this mostly impeded his potion-making as it was quite common there.

Most excruciating though was how out of breath he got so easily, the obese in the class could do more before finding themselves struggling. He tended to walk slower because of this too so they left earlier for classes, he was breathless before reaching Charms or Herbology and for Astronomy he needed to actually sit to take a break halfway up. Byron was sure he was no better with his other classes but they were the only ones they had together, in their free time he just tended to hang out in the Ravenclaw Tower alone and he wasn't put half as much effort into his work anymore. It put a damper on his budding spirits certainly, Pol had only been hurt for sticking up for him after all. Pol had said before that if James kept up then he'd end up seriously injuring him, he'd been wrong though and instead paid the price. Byron had rather he had been right, he'd never wanted his friend to pay for his crimes and the guilt gnawed on his soul.

Even more so one Wednesday when he sat through the double Charms without Pol, he took the break to head up to Ravenclaw Tower to search for him. He'd walked him back there before so he knew vaguely where the tower was located, personally Byron preferred the dungeons but then he wasn't keen on heights. The increasing amount of pure Ravenclaws who were giving him strange looks told him he was likely going in the right direction, he climbed a spiral staircase he'd never been on before and was surprised for it to end at a door. He could see no door handle or keyhole though, there was only a bronze knocker that was shaped like an eagle. He was starting to doubt he was in the right place, this wasn't like the Slytherin Dungeons after all. He scratched the back of his neck before reaching out to knock it, deciding he may as well give it a try.

"Can you let me in, please?" Byron asked politely as he knocked, to his shock - he leaped so far back he almost fell down the stairs - the knocker was the one answer.

"_If I have it, others may want it but if I share then I no longer have it. What do I have?_" the eagle knocker inquired of him, Byron opened and closed his mouth a few times. A riddle? Would it let him in if he answered it despite not being a Ravenclaw? What things did you lose specifically if you shared them?

"A secret?" Byron guessed and the door opened.

Feeling relieved, Byron slipped into the Ravenclaw Common Room. It was a wide circular room with a domed ceiling overhead, a ceiling painted with stars which he'd admit looked rather lovely. The windows were ached, giving an extensive view of the grounds and framed by blue and bronze silks which went with the midnight blue carpet. Byron sighed, he missed being able to feel carpet through the soles of his feet. It was furnished not too dissimilar to the dungeons with tables, chairs, couches and bookcases around a fire although in different styles and colors of course, there was also much less bookcases in the dungeons. He was thankful for Ravenclaws being in classes as he felt out of place in the airy room, he wondered if Pol had felt as out of place in the dungeons.

He headed over to a door he'd guess led to the dormitories, right by a tall statue of a woman who he thought was Rowena Ravenclaw if common sense and chocolate frog cards were to be believed. He guessed it even had boys and girls on the same sides, he started up the stairs and was quite glad for the plaques so he could locate the Second Year rooms easily. The dormitory wasn't too different from the dungeons either, except they had large arching windows in-between the beds and the four poster beds were in Ravenclaw not Slytherin colors. He spotted Pol lying on the one opposite the door, dressed in his school uniform but just lying there as he gazed up at nothing and didn't react in the slightest to Byron's entrance nor as he approached.

"Hey," Byron greeted him and Pol's eyes shot to him in shock.

"What are you doing here?" Pol wondered in surprise as he sat up, a confused frown on his face.

"You missed Charms, I was worried about you."

"No, I mean this is the _Ravenclaw_ dormitory. How did you get in here?"

"Oh, right. Yeah, the eagle door knocker gave me a riddle and I answered it," Byron brushed it off, "It didn't seem to notice I was a Slytherin, or else it didn't care."

"Right," Pol nodded, his expression losing interest as he lay back down.

"So why did you miss Charms?"

"I'm allowed to miss classes if I don't feel up to it," Pol pointed out with a strange lying down shrug, his voice also sounded raspy since his injury, "I didn't feel up to it."

"Why not?" Byron wondered worriedly and Pol glanced at him as he was missing the point of an obvious joke.

"It hurts to breathe."

"Do you want me to get-"

"I feel like this_ all_ the time," Pol interjected before he could complete his sentence, his expression blank, "Walking just makes it worse, today is a long day and I just didn't feel up to it. Okay?"

"Okay," Byron nodded and sat down beside Pol, who'd been letting his hair grow out now and who went back to staring at the ceiling, "Can't Marigold give you something for the pain?"

"I'm already on something for the pain, it's bearable."

"Well do you feel up to Herbology then?"

"Not really."

"But then we won't have had any classes together today," Byron said, feeling quite disheartened while Pol's expression remained disinterested.

"So what?" Pol asked of him, looking back to him almost exasperated, "What do you even need me for? Your old friends are talking to you again, they're in Slytherin so you have every class together."

"You're still my friend, my best friend. I still care about you and want to go to classes with you."

"Why?" Pol snapped bitterly as he sat up, "I walk slower than my grandmother because I can't even breathe right, I make us late for everything and it takes me so long to stop panting to say spells properly that I miss most of the class. I'm useless now."

"You have to give it time to heal, okay?" Byron pointed out gently and Pol threw him a dark look, "I know it's hard but these things take time, it hasn't been that long."

"It's been a month!" Pol spat, the raspiness of his voice only amplified by volume and sounded like it was breaking up, "It's time to accept that it's never going to get better, maybe less worse in a million years but not better! I'm going to have to live like this for the rest of my life and- Listen to me, I can't even shout properly! I'm done for."

"You're not done for," Byron tried to assure him as Pol buried his face in his hands, he reached out to comfort him but Pol batted his hand away looking back up with eyes lined with tears.

"My life _is_ over!" Pol yelled at him so hoarsely it was barely audible, burying his face back into his hands, "You got your life back but I lost mine and it just... sucks.

"I'm sorry," Byron offered lamely and guiltily as Pol's shoulders started to shake from inaudible sobs, he saw tears dripping through the gaps in his fingers. Byron reached out again, this time Pol didn't resist and allowed himself to be hugged so he could cry onto Byron's shoulder instead, "But you know when... when I lost my legs I thought it was over for me too. I thought that I'd never be able to walk, that I'd be confined to a bed for the rest of my life and never be able to do anything. But I... I was wrong. Maybe you'll be wrong too."

* * *

_Master Rodolphus was not pleased with them, not only had their spell not worked on them but it had backfired. Not only could they both still remember but they remembered in incredible detail and they seemed incapable of forgetting now, they could quote word for word conversations or passages Rabastan was trying to get them to read. It had worked on the guard who'd come in to investigate the noise though, every thought inside his skull had been obliterated. Every memory from his birth to the present was gone, burned out so severely he was incapable of forming new memories now. He wasn't even aware of his own name, he wasn't even aware of what words meant. They'd tried to undo it - both to the guard and themselves - but to no avail, Master Rodolphus had beaten them as punishment - as well as for vaporizing a perfectly good wand and the guard was ultimately killed as he was beyond saving. _

_Brutus had also discovered Shadows apparently, the first outside of him and Sal to know. As expected, they were not things not heard of before to regular wizards. Brutus was also putting a lot of effort into improving their lives, Rabastan didn't have the courage to stand up to anyone alone but Brutus didn't have that trouble and together things were improving slowly. They were eventually given a mattress each to sleep on as opposed to solid concrete, for the first time in their lives they got to experience what it was like to rest your head on a pillow and wrap yourself up in a real blanket. They were given daily meals now instead of intermittently, they were also allowed water whenever they wanted it. Books were now allowed outside of Rabastan's lessons for entertainment and to expand on their literacy, he was improving and ironically could write better then Sal despite the fact she was the superior reader. They were allowed a change of clothes now, switching between two - albeit identical - outfits while one would be washed regularly and were introduced to the concept of teeth brushing. If one of them - they were only allowed out one at a time - was alone with Brutus or Rabastan then they might be allowed outside for fresh air or to bathe._

_Tommy knew he should be grateful but he found himself unable to enjoy the luxury as much as Sal, he was too focused on his misery. He lay awake at night as his mind replayed his worst nightmares, nightmares that had actually occurred in his real life at Master Rodolphus' hands or in Azkaban. He didn't see how Sal could smile or have hope, life was all just pain and misery. All their lives they'd suffered - he remembered - and the rest of their lives seemed doomed to be the same, either that or succeed in magic and become a master instead. Become one to inflict the pain on others, an endless cycle of cruelty. And that's what life was, where were the good parts? What were even the good parts? He had his own idea on how to escape his torture though, such clarity made it easier to pinpoint magic. He recognized when bizarre things happened around him, he could feel it coming out of him and while he still had no idea how to control that raw surge, he figured out how to block magic when he felt it rising. Suppress it. If he couldn't do magic and become a Squib like Marius Black then they'd have no reason to hurt him anymore, maybe he'd die but at least he wouldn't be hurting. Sal had completely different concerns on her mind however._

_"Do you ever think about him?" Sal asked him randomly as they sat together in the basement before bed._

_"Think about who?" Tommy wondered in confusion, glancing at her to see she looked oddly nervous and sat the same as him with their knees hugged to their chests._

_"Brutus," Sal informed him as if it were supposed to be obvious, Tommy scratched his chin, "So do you ever think about him?"_

_"Erm... I guess."_

_"Like what?"_

_"Like... hoping he's guarding tomorrow because he's nice, his stories about good things," Tommy answered disinterestedly as she nodded slowly but didn't seem satisfied._

_"What about dreams then?" Sal prompted cautiously, "Do you ever have dreams about Brutus? Like erm... a completely random example, kissing?"_

_"Mostly I dream about pain but I can't say I've ever had a dream about him being kissed and losing his soul, that would suck," Tommy admitted, saddened at the thought of that fate while Sal looked oddly annoyed at him._

_"I don't mean like that!" Sal complained irritably and he scowled._

_"Then what else do you mean?"_

_"Fine. How about thoughts?" Sal asked instead, looking almost desperate, "Do you ever have thoughts about Brutus?"_

_"Thoughts like what?" Tommy demanded, feeling annoyed by the stupid line of questions._

_"I don't know like... wanting to... wanting to hold his hand?"_

_"You know Brutus hates when you try to do that."_

_"I know."_

_"Then why do you do it?"_

_"Because... Because I want to," Sal offered, looking away and playing idly with her hands, "He's so good to us. He's smart and interesting, makes you smile. He looks out of us and protects, I always feel safe with him. I've never felt safe before."_

_"Isn't that just like Rabastan too though?" Tommy wondered Sal shot him such an outraged look that there was a random blue flash of lighting to accompany it._

_"It's not the same! Rabastan's nice but he's not the same as Brutus, Rabastan's basically our uncle but Brutus is different," Sal insisted as if that made a difference, "And Brutus is... Brutus is good to... to look at. He's not like everyone else, he's unique, he's special. The first time we saw him we didn't even think he was human, it's like he's better than them. They're cruel and twisted but Brutus is above them all. And he's so strong. Do you ever wonder what his muscles look like when he's not wearing clothes?"_

_"Okay, Sal, I see where you're coming from," Tommy told her sympathetically as it clicked into place, her eyebrows rose in surprise._

_"You do?"_

_"Yes, I do. Being able to remember everything has made you see how horrible the world is, instead of being sad like me you're focusing on random things."_

_"You think?" Sal asked, managing to look hopeful and disappointed at the same time and he nodded._

_"What else could it possibly be? Who in their right mind wonders what someone's muscles look like without clothes? No one cares about that, that's just weird," Tommy scoffed but offered her a gentle attempt at a smile, "Just try get some sleep, I'm sure this will pass eventually."_

_"Alright," Sal nodded and they both climbed onto their mattresses, settling in with the blissfully soft pillows and thankfully warm blankets. Not that he deserved it really._

_"Hey Sal?" Tommy called out nervously but feeling the need to talk about it, she had her back to him but rolled back over to face him at the sound of her name._

_"What?"_

_"Do you ever feel guilty? About the Death Eater who died because we wiped his mind?"_

_"Of course not," Sal took her turn to scoff as she rolled back over onto her other side, "He was a Master, Tommy, he was bad. Don't you remember being tortured by him? He laughed when you cried. You shouldn't have sympathy for Masters, they're evil."_

* * *

**Part 3: **Talking and Training

* * *

Scorpius was actually enjoying his suspension, not something he thought was often said and he was learning more than Hogwarts in a way. With Wyatt, he could finally practice spells that Midas just set an extensive amount of theory on in regards to Transfiguration. Vanishing for example was something they'd studied majorly this year, however she'd only allowed them to practice vanishing small swatches of fabric and even they were still limited to one person at a time under her strict supervision. Wyatt had him practicing on a variety of increasingly complex inanimate objects as well as living things, moving up from worms to insects to mice and ultimately a cow from a nearby farm. It was trickier then he'd thought with more complex organisms but nonetheless he enjoyed the challenge, reminding him why Transfiguration had once been one of his favorite subjects. Wyatt was a good teacher too, helpful, knowledgeable and his usual easygoing self. He also had plenty of time to practice his animagi training, Wyatt reckoned he'd probably master it before he finished Hogwarts.

In contrast, things at home were quite dull but he had a good system going on getting to be alone to ring away. He took full advantage of his mother's friendship with Myriam, every time his parents were leaving with Sol to visit her or visit Lysel in the hospital he'd tell them he'd stay with his grandmother but tell his grandmother he was going with them. It had managed to work out quite well so far, he tended to stay in his room anyway to get away as well as just to be away from them. His grandmother - who seemed over her obsession with Voldemort's son - had taken to lecturing him on the dangers of alcohol every time she saw him, he was really almost regretting taking the fall for Michael as now he had to deal with the backlash from his family thinking he was an alcoholic. They even arranged for him to see a very tired looking Leebin one of the days when his wife was visiting with Maurene - Lysel was already in hospital from the full moon just over a week away - at the end of the first week, which he wouldn't have minded except for the _why_.

"So you got suspended for drinking I hear?" Leebin commented as Scorpius led him through the house as his mother had told him to give Leebin a tour.

"I'm not an alcoholic!" Scorpius snapped in frustration at having this conversation so many times, another reason he preferred being home, "Let me stop you right there, I am_ not_ an alcoholic! I don't know why my parents think that, I don't know why _anyone_ thinks that! I was suspended for_ having_ alcohol not for being drunk, not for drinking it but just for having it! It wasn't even open! It wasn't even a lot! I don't think so anyway. And I don't know why everyone is jumping to this conclusion! So just don't waste your breath! I know its poison, I know it's dangerous, I don't know why anyone would want to drink it in the first place! Okay?!"

"Okay," Leebin nodded, quite unexpectedly and Scorpius blinked in surprise. He hadn't counted on that and hadn't really expected to not have to defend his actions, "Do you want to know why they think that?"

"Erm... Sure," Scorpius agreed hesitantly.

"Because it was a lot, there was a smashed bottle that it looked like you'd held and several bottles of beer, scotch and wine in your friend's trunk. Enough to make it look like a problem, considering everything you've been through they made the jump to escaping stress through alcohol."

"Well they're wrong," Scorpius scoffed and Leebin gave him a weak smile.

"It wasn't your alcohol, was it?" Leebin asked him so calmly but so shockingly that Scorpius almost stopped walking.

"It-It was. I just hadn't gotten around to drinking it yet," Scorpius said slowly and pathetically, knowing Leebin didn't believe that.

"For starters if it was yours then you'd know there was no wine and for second...ers, you're right. I don't think you're an alcohol, I don't think you've had alcohol at all," Leebin told him and Scorpius hung his head fearfully, regretting snapping even more now, "But I do think you were covering for your friend."

"Are you going to tell my parents?" Scorpius wondered fearfully, glancing back up to him and Leebin surprised him again as he shook his head after a moment's pause.

"I don't see any reason why I should, I don't share what we talk about."

"Good," Scorpius breathed a sigh of relief, both at Leebin keeping silent and at having someone else to believe him as they continued walking.

"May I ask why you felt the need to cover for your friend though?" Leebin inquired and suppressed a yawn, "My apologies. You're not boring me, I am merely tired."

"I had to take the blame," Scorpius admitted, seeing no reason to lie, "Rutherford - the Ministry attaché - has it in for Michael, he doesn't like werewolves you know?"

"I know," Leebin said dryly and Scorpius recalled again when Rutherford had threatened him last year, only this time remembering a comment about dogs. It occurred to him that it had been an insult on Leebin's werewolf family members like the woman from Hogsmeade, "His wife was killed in the Hogsmeade attack I believe, he's not as extreme as PAW were but he still dislikes them."

"I didn't know that," Scorpius stated truthfully, "But it doesn't change anything, I mean I... I was abused by muggles but I don't think every muggle deserves to die."

"A mature view to have."

"He was going to expel Michael for the alcohol, I didn't think he deserved that," Scorpius pointed out as he shoved his hands in his pockets, feeling uncomfortable from mentioning the muggles and was surprised by his own bringing it up, "I don't think he's in a good place right now and expulsion wouldn't have helped especially as a muggle-born. I thought he was sick but all this time he's been getting hangovers from drinking, his grades are down and he failed a Quidditch match completely. How do I get him- How do you get anyone to stop drinking?"

"It's different for everyone, Scorpius, every situation is unique and different ones require different approaches. And the painful thing about, about any addiction is that they have to want to change. If not then they'll just keep going back to it no matter what you do. Some people may not realize they're drinking so much that it's dangerous, others may realize but don't want to change for whatever reason. People tend to start drinking for a reason, escaping stress or pain maybe and you need to address that. With anything, you need to treat the underlying cause or the symptoms will just keep coming back. I don't know what Michael's specific situation is so I can't really help you with that, on the plus side the alcohol was confiscated so he probably isn't drinking right now."

"I have to help him."

"You're always trying to help other people," Leebin commented Scorpius glanced at him in confusion.

"What's wrong with wanting to help people?"

"Nothing, I just worry you focus so much on trying to help other people instead of facing your own issues. It's alright wanting to help people but you still need to take care of yourself. Tell me, that is bothering_ you_?"

"Nothing," Scorpius lied, despite knowing Leebin didn't believe that either but he didn't feel like talking about his own problems right then.

"How was the tour?" a voice asked curiously and Scorpius glanced back up to realize they'd come full circle back to the parlor, his father was approaching them eagerly.

"Fine, maybe next time I'll show him the basement," Scorpius offered and noticed out of the corner of his eye that Leebin's eyes bulged slightly at this.

"Hmm," his father nodded as Leebin moved back over to his daughter, recognizing their talk was over. His father scowled after him before looking back to Scorpius, "You know you could always talk to me, son?"

"What could I possibly talk to you about?" Scorpius scoffed at the ludicrous offer and turned on his heel, oblivious to the look of hurt on his father's face as he returned to his room in the hopes of portkeying over to Varanian. Naturally, his time with Varanian was better.

"You've shown signs of being naturally good with magic, control over it at a young age is especially a sign of non-verbal magic coming easier to you," Varanian explained in a tone that reminded Scorpius he had once been a teacher, "Spells are just a way of channeling our magic to do what we want, that's why inventing them is pretty easy. You just string together a few old words to help focus it on the purpose you desire along with a fluid motion to suit the spell, concentration is the key here."

"Did you ever consider that maybe it's so easy for you because you're just talented?" Annie questioned of him curiously, his hair randomly turned brown as he glanced at her. That happened quite a lot around her.

"No. Now pay attention, not having magical training for so long will probably make this easier for you as well," Varanian complained and went back to his speech, "You need to focus more on what you want the magic to do, you've done it in the past without realizing it. For now just think the incantation as you do the wand movement but eventually you won't even need to think it, you'll just want to stun and you'll stun. So one of you try to disarm the other, the other try to put up a Shield Charm."

Scorpius found it surprisingly easy to get non-verbal magic, it wasn't that different from what Calderon had told him all those years ago on the train except with a more specific intention. It took Annie a bit longer but by the end of the day, they were both capable of defending and disarming non-verbally. It became the main focus of the first week to work exclusively on non-verbal magic for a variety of spells, mostly spells that would be used in duels since that was where the split second between speaking and thinking the spell could be the difference between life and death although Varanian did have them do some weird ones like the Levitation Charm. Although he did get around to explaining that.

"Okay so you have a good pool of spells and you're capable of using them but here we're going to work on technique, in particular taking your environment into account," Varanian told him as they stood in one of the unused rooms although it still had furniture, Annie also wasn't with them this time.

"Shouldn't Annie be here for this?" Scorpius wondered.

"I already taught her this. Even though I've known you longer, I don't see you as much because you're in Hogwarts but I see Annie all the time. She needs to work on Transfiguration now," Varanian brushed it off, "So environment is important, you should always be aware of your surroundings for things you can utilize in a duel which a lot of people don't do."

"Does it really make that much of a difference?"

"If I fired a spell at you, what would you do?"

"Shield Charm."

"Very good but what if I fired an Unforgivable Curse at you?"

"You don't use Unforgivable Curses, do you?" Scorpius asked worriedly, recalling what he'd told Antonius earlier in the year.

"Of course not," Varanian scoffed as if offended by the thought, much to Scorpius' relief, "I don't mean me, I'm speaking theoretically to get you to think. If an attacker was standing here instead of me firing a Killing Curse at you then what would you do?"

"Get out of the way."

"Also good," Varanian nodded in acknowledgement, "Attackers aren't going to want a formal duel where you stand like statues, in a real duel you need to be agile and light on your feet. However, dodging can also put you at a disadvantage as you may end up in a more compromising position as you lose your place. In a duel ideally, you don't want to be on defense but on the attack. Offensive is the best defense, if you're on the attack then they're on the defense. After all in a duel, you're not trying to defend forever but instead wanting to defeat your opponent. Do you understand?"

"I think so."

"Now I couldn't really teach you this before because even though you_ can_ still do it non-verbally, the incantation is really long and not practical. Why do you think stunners are used more frequently than body-binding to incapacitate your opponent?" Varanian told him and Scorpius supposed that was a point, _Stupefy_ was shorter than _Petrificus Totatlis_, "So what I'm going to teach you is it use your surroundings to an advantage, specifically levitating them to block incoming attacks. Fire a spell at me and we'll pretend it's unblockable, whenever you're ready."

_Stupefy_, Scorpius thought and brandished his wand almost the second Varanian had finished his sentence, wanting to show he could do it non-verbally and quickly as well as curious to whether he could catch him off guard. Varanian was flawless though, with a flick of his wand a chair shot out from the desk and into the air to take the spell. It shattered but remained in the air, Varanian flicked his wand again and the ruined chair was flung towards Scorpius who had to quickly jump out of the way. Varanian lazily waved his wand and the chair repaired itself as good as new.

"Do you see how that could be useful now?" Varanian asked of him and Scorpius nodded truthfully, eager to try it.

They also worked on that, it was actually trickier than simply learning to use a spell as different objects had different weights to gauge while levitating them to your defense. If it was heavier it moved more slowly so you needed to give it more pull to get it there in time, if it was lighter it moved more quickly so you needed to give it less pull or it would move past the spell and even hit you. You also did need to make sure it intersected with the spell's path, some might aim for your head or legs or be more to the right or left so you needed to maneuver it into the right place and if it was something smaller, you did need to be more precise with it. Another thing was to make sure there actually was objects to use, Scorpius felt a fool when Varanian moved them to a different room and he went to defend himself with a chair that was obviously no longer there. It would all be easier as well if you didn't have to process it all in the split second you had before the spell reached you.

Nonetheless, being difficult didn't make it any less useful. Varanian also touched briefly upon using things as a barricade and defending yourself from objects being flung at you, as well as making use out of things often forget about that were fixed in place like radiators or sinks or even the branches of trees. They could also make for good weapons, flinging it towards your attacker followed by a spell was a good tactic as a lesser duelist may not be able to defend both. They also did focus on the more usual dodging and speed, Scorpius wasn't used to using non-verbal spells and was quite surprised how much faster he could fire things out. He also did teach him to block _Acuta_ as he'd said.

"Should we really be doing this outside?" Scorpius asked as Varanian led him outside to work on it, "I mean, is it still hiding my Trace and all?"

"Yes, if you haven't been caught yet then my enchantments clearly hold," Varanian pointed out as he walked around idly, occasionally picking up sticks discarded from trees, "Only difference is outside we're not protected by the Fidelius Charm, only my other enchantments but they should still alert us if people show up after you. My Grandfather taught me this spell, it's usually only used by Ministry personnel. The Trace is put on students when they first start Hogwarts, those who choose to drop out and be homeschooled are still bound by it so to avoid it being set off uselessly they put this enchantment around the house. I don't think it's actually legal to use it in other circumstances, keeping a lid on underage magic is important."

"Why did your Grandfather still use it then?"

"He used to be Head Auror, he considered himself above the law. He taught me magic from the day I got my first wand and he'd be damned if he wasn't going to do so during the breaks I was home from Hogwarts so he used that," Varanian explained and handing him a long stick while keeping another for himself, Scorpius raised an eyebrow in confusion but didn't need to ask as Varanian noticed, "_Acuta_ is very much like a sword fight except the blades are invisible, well at its weakest it's like weak stroke of a whip leaving welts but at its most powerful it's like a sword slashing deeply although even at its weakest it can be blocked like this. Before we start using the real spell though, I want to make sure you have a sense of defense because it will still hurt and Annie won't be able to heal it if you don't defend it."

"I know, I've had experience with _Acuta_ before," Scorpius admitted uncomfortably as he recalled scarring Michael as well as having Varanian - while possessed - slash the soles of his feet with it.

"I-I know. I'm sorry, I was possessed," Varanian apologized guiltily as he stared at the ground, clearly thinking he was recalling the latter, "If you don't want to do this you don't but being able to defend yourself from it useful, Shadows are quite willing to use it and Brutus is incredibly adept at-"

"Its fine," Scorpius brushed it off, "It was a long time ago, I'm over that. It got better."

"I bet there are still scars though, I still have scars."

"You still have scars?" Scorpius repeated in confusion, breaking Varanian back from his thoughts to look up at him again.

"Slashing the soles of my feet with it was what my Grandfather used to do to me as punishment, number of lashes depending on the severity of my crime. Double for weakness like crying, triple for cowardice like trying to avoid punishment."

"That's horrible."

"My Grandfather was harsh but fair, he never had to use it on my Father or siblings. I deserved it," Varanian shrugged it off dismissively, Scorpius still thought it was an awful thing to do to a child though like he wouldn't want to scar Sol for life just because he was misbehaving. He didn't think he liked Varanian's grandfather very much, "So the main thing to remember with this is to go the opposite to me, if I do go vertically then you go horizontally and if I go horizontally then you go vertically as that is the more guaranteed way to block it. It is possible to go the same way and still block it but it's more likely you'll miss marginally and hit each other. Most importantly though, you need to react fast."

So they worked on that, not quite hacking at each other sticks as Scorpius had thought as_ Acuta_ could only slash not stab like he supposed real swords would. It was more just to get Scorpius to react quickly enough, it was easy to become complacent then be taken off-guard by a sudden lower blow. Varanian also encouraged him to duck higher blows or dodge those on the edges of his body, even a trick of jumping over lower ones which put you in a good position to get a strike in before they'd straightened themselves up from going for a low blow. They did move on to using the real spell though.

"Are you in a good mood?" Varanian asked of him.

"A good mood?"

"_Acuta_ is more powerful if you throw your emotions into it, it can actually feel quite cathartic releasing your rage and frustration through the magic. However, when you're practicing with someone you want it to be weak so even if you miss you don't do much damage."

"Okay I get it, I'm good," Scorpius admitted and gave him a thumbs up as if to confirm it.

Scorpius found it both easier and harder then he'd thought, on one hand waving his wand was certainly an action he was more comfortable with then a pretend sword stick but on another the spell was invisible. Sparks from the clash was the only indication he got that it was working, that and not feeling a slash. Varanian moved quite slowly at first, clearly trying to get him used it to it but gradually got faster. It was actually the perfect balance though, Varanian increased speed at the perfect pace for Scorpius to keep up. Scorpius never thought he'd find it enjoyable but he did, it was almost like a dance to match Varanian's movements. They moved so fluidly it was almost like they were in sync, neither ended up slashed by the curse.

It was quite tiring though, in Hogwarts lessons were finite and even with practical spell work lessons they never got two in a row. But here, Scorpius would be at it for hours and often stayed late into the night to avoid his family as best he could. Time was limited and Varanian didn't waste it, Wyatt was more lax but it was still quite rigorous being on his feet practicing magic for several hours at a time without break. Scorpius thought he might get rest if he complained but he didn't, he also knew while five weeks was a lot of time it also wasn't a lot of time in the grand scheme of things and this was important stuff. He wanted to fight the Shadows and here he was learning how, in a real fight they wouldn't stop to rest either and if Varanian could come back to practice intensely after being up all night spying then Scorpius could handle it. Besides, as tiring as it could be he did like it. He liked training, it kept his mind off things and he felt comfortable there, especially with Varanian who he thought was more comfortable with him too even finally answering his questions about Alchemy.

"Well you study the four basic elements and transmutation, it involves potion-making and transfiguration specifically transformation. You'll need OWLs in Potions and Transfiguration to take it," Varanian explained as they had paused to eat a middle of the night soup dinner at Annie's insistence Varanian eat at least once in twenty-four hours, Scorpius had skipped dinner as well, "The processes you learn are quite complex and you really strip things down to the basics to get a better understanding of how things work, which has been quite useful to me in like creating the portkey rings and spells because if you know how things work then it's easier to manipulate it to our own ends. It is difficult and a big commitment so you shouldn't really take it lightly."

"How so?" Scorpius wondered curiously.

"With subjects, you get generally get three classes of any subject per week with exceptions being Flying and Astronomy. Because Alchemy's new, you get a double period of it every week day as well as a lot of homework because there's a lot to fit in to just two years. It's pretty much double the work of a regular NEWT class on top of all your other NEWT subjects, a lot of people tend to drop out if there's even enough for them to hire a teacher in the first place. It's a dying art. Rayan Fintan is the professor Hogwarts usually hire, he's very old and has been teaching it for a long time. He says when he started it was a full-time steady job but interest has dropped to the point he has to do other things to make a living because it's not popular enough for him to live on, even going between the English and Irish schools. That's why Hogwarts sometimes have to hire someone else, that and his health is declining."

"Would you recommend it? I kind of only signed up because of my friend."

"I don't know, it was useful for me but I don't know if it'll be useful for you. Depends if you're interested in that sort of thing," Varanian shrugged, "I wouldn't worry about it though, odds are there won't be enough people and you can drop out at any time if you don't like it. What NEWTs did you want to take?"

"Just subjects I like, I don't have a career in mind and I think it's foolish to worry about it with the war," Scorpius told him and cast him a look, expecting Varanian to disagree and shove careers on him like his parents would. He simply nodded though.

"If you don't have a career in mind then its best to pick the subjects you like, go broad though. Knowledge is useful and you'll be more likely to have subjects you need when you do get to a job."

"Really? You're not going to complain I_ have_ to have a career picked out?" Scorpius asked of him and it was Varanian's turn to cast him a glance, only his silvery eyes were infinitely more piercing then Scorpius' own.

"You're fifteen. It's not a crime to not know what you want to do with your life, especially considering the turmoil around you and the fact careers might not even matter if we don't win. There's nothing wrong with that, not everyone's lucky enough to have a career in mind," Varanian said seriously and Scorpius felt a knot uncurling in his chest that he hadn't even realized had been there, "You're a great wizard, Scorpius. You're smart, talented and powerful, maybe even more then you realize. You'll do great whatever you decide to do with your life."

"Thanks," Scorpius muttered, staring into his soup bowl to hide the faint smile on his lips. It meant more then he'd realized for someone to faith in him, especially coming from one of the greatest wizards he knew.

* * *

**Part 4:** Betrayal

* * *

Michael felt worse than ever. He thought he'd finally found a way for his life to feel less terrible but Rutherford had taken his alcohol away along with his best friend, leaving him in misery. He'd never intended anything to go that way, he thought he could stay on top of it like Annie had. But he'd failed, when did he never not fail really? And he'd gotten Scorpius suspended. He didn't know why Scorpius had been so stupid to say it was his, Michael didn't even care whether he was suspended or expelled. Muggle or wizard, life was still shit and he'd still be a werewolf. It wasn't like he was going to pass any OWLs anyway, he hadn't realized how far behind he'd fallen until he was no longer struggling to see through hangovers or drinking instead of studying despite teachers having started expressing their concerns a while ago.

He'd tried to throw himself into work to distract himself since Scorpius' suspension but he was still failing, he was so stressed that the words on the pages twisted themselves into knots and his writing was so terrible teachers had given it back to him with awkward apologies that they hadn't been able to decipher it at all. They did offer to help him but he knew he was beyond help. In Midas' case, she told him outright he was a lost cause and considering his end of term test results especially he was inclined to agree. They were all written tests after all, his grades ranged from a Poor plus to a Troll minus. And the final nail in the coffin was realizing that a full moon would occur in the middle of his OWL examinations, he'd be wiped out for part to all of the week and would surely fail so his attempts to catch up were rather pointless. His life was rather pointless. Unlike Scorpius who was missing out on preparing for his OWLs because of him, he lay awake at night staring at Scorpius' empty bed with guilt gnawing at him.

He'd told his friends the truth, if for no other reason than to not taint Scorpius' name with his crimes at least in his friends' eyes. Rose had - and still did - angrily lectured him on the adverse effects, Corin had lectured him on how this kind of thing didn't happen in Beauxbatons because it was so much better, Abby had taken to watching him like a hawk on their patrols to make sure he didn't sneak off to steal alcohol from the kitchens assuming there was any there as she nor he knew, Albus had started checking his trunk randomly to make sure he was sober, Latimer had pointed out he was an idiot, Vern had stopped speaking to him for a week, Molly had started focusing more on the other Chasers as she no longer trusted him to show up not hungover, Maurice - shockingly - seemed quite clueless to how alcohol was bad or what it did but Orous' reaction had been the worst.

"I'm disappointed in you, Michael," Orous had told him quietly, very much looking it as he turned and left.

And the truth was, Michael was disappointed in himself. He wasn't even sure what was worse, that he'd started drinking and it had gotten Scorpius suspended or that he still craved alcohol to escape his life. He was deeply ashamed of himself, he almost preferred feeling numb. He was plagued by vivid recurring nightmares of Bob brutalizing him, he'd fight back and then Bob would turn into himself as a child but he wouldn't stop pummeling himself. If anything he'd just hit harder and harder as his furious frenzy consumed him, angrily beating his own battered body while feeling the pain he was inflicting and hearing his own cries, until finally he'd turn to a werewolf and tear himself part. What he did to himself as a child still happened to himself and the dream would end with both of them - present and child - broken, bloody and dead. He found it quite disturbing actually. He wanted nothing more than to apologize to Scorpius - who probably hated him now - but the best he could come up with was a lousy letter.

_Daer Scorbius _

_I wentud to epoligyze for geting you susbandab paceuze of ny drinking, I khow I screwad ub end I nevur maent for you to pey tha pryce. I wuold say fhis in parsun but I woe'nt see you for e few weekz anb I wentad to tell you this az sooun as posibal, I do'nt axpect you to forgiv me and I bropaply don't desarve it enyway put I nad to sey this. I am sorry. Raely, I nevar wanted tnis to happan, youe'r my besf fraind atfer all end I did'nt waht you too teke tha fall. It if maykes you fael battar I am not drihking enymore, Ruthurfourd conviskaytud it all ahd I'm not plenning on gatting more. I'm frying too stay zopar, not thet it makez enytnihg batter. I'm sorry agein, truelie I fael reelly terribel apout yuor suzbenshun._

_I hope your're OK and thet yuor perants ere'nt to mad et you, the ofhars era mab at me. You shuold juzt tall tham the trueth, thay mihgt try too tell Ruthorfourd put it deos'nt mattar. I shuould be tha one baing pnuishad not you, I daserve to be susbendad instaed ot you. And if he doez dacide to axpel me then so be it, the consuqencas are myne and mine elone._

_Teke cera end stey safe, I hope you are wall._

_\- Michael_

He hated how hard writing was for him. He never managed to send it though, no matter how many times he wrote it out and worked on correcting his atrocious spelling it never looked sincere in his barely legible handwriting. He supposed there was no point anyway, saying sorry was going to help Scorpius - who probably wouldn't be able to read it anyway - only make Michael himself feel slightly less bad. He tried to avoid his other friends, he thought it was better that way as he preferred to be alone when he was upset. It wasn't too hard, it was quite easy to avoid those not in his year and even those in his year. Abby, Albus, Maurice and Rose - who apparently was dating Corin, it annoyed him more then it annoyed Abby - dedicated more of their free time to their respective dates, even in classes Maurice would focus intensely on the work while Rose tended to be busy trying - and failing - to show him up. Abby and Albus were usually bickering over who had the better date as well so it wasn't hard to slip away, Scorpius was the one who tended to reach out to him but he wasn't there. Nor did Michael think it was likely to ever be that way again from what he'd done, he'd burned that bridge when he destroyed he destroyed his own friendship. He'd lost his best friend.

The April full moon was the week they left for Easter break, it was a particularly tiring and excruciating one which he didn't mind because he knew he deserved it. He had a migraine to boot, he did still get those although he knew his credibility would be in the toilet from the hangovers he'd milked it for. He wished Rutherford would chain him up again, he felt bad enough and Rutherford had taken to reading him every article he could find on werewolf attacks. In particular ones where something had gone wrong and Wolfsbane had been ineffective, reminding him it was always possible and that there were hundreds of innocents he could easily destroy. Thankfully the potion did work though and a few days later he was still fighting the overhanging exhaustion and ache of his muscles on the train back home in the prefect compartment, those not staying Hogwarts took turns patrolling. Abby and Sequoia must have mistaken him for sleeping as he could hear them snogging, he found himself half-asleep and idly wishing he and Rose were the snogging pair which just made him feel worse. All in all, he was relieved when the train stopped and he could get off. He'd been tempted to stay in Hogwarts but his parents had wanted him to return home, he'd wanted to make sure Bertie was okay too.

"Michael!" a familiar voice called almost as soon as he'd left the train, just after he'd wished Albus luck with the trial despite kind of hoping James did end up in prison for what he'd done. He mustered his first sober smile in months to greet his aunt, heading over to Annie and expecting a hug he never received, "Come on, let's get you home."

"Okay," Michael nodded and they headed out to her car with his trunk in stony silence, he was confused by the frosty reception until it dawned on him in the car. She spent all her time with Varanian, who Scorpius was likely spending his time with, "Scorpius told you, didn't he?"

"Yes," Annie told him icily, not taking her eyes from the road, "And before you even thinking about stealing more from me, there's no alcohol in this car or in the apartment."

"Are you angry I took it?"

"I'm angry you drank it!" Annie snapped at him, "What the_ hell_ were you thinking?!"

"I just wanted to feel better."

"Well do you feel better now?" Annie asked acidly and Michael hung his head ashamedly, shaking it slowly, "You shouldn't drink."

"You do it," Michael protested defensively, he knew he'd screwed up but it was hypocritical for her to be the one chastising him for it.

"But you're not me, are you?! Nor should you try to be! Nor should you want to be! Do you want to want to wake up hungover every day of your life?! Do you would to want to shake uncontrollably whenever you _don't_ drink?! Do you want to destroy yourself?! And you let your friend take the freaking fall for you!"

"I didn't mean for that to happen!"

"Of course! You didn't mean for it to happen, that absolutely makes it okay!" Annie snapped sarcastically and her expression darkened, "I didn't mean to hit that guy but I still did five years in jail. If you're going to be an alcoholic then at least have the guts to face the consequences of your own actions, even if they're mistakes- _especially_ if they're mistakes. Alcoholics are selfish gits, do you really want to be like that?"

"Alcoholics aren't all selfish."

"Yes they are."

"You're not," Michael pointed out and Annie threw him a glance as if he'd suddenly lost his mind so he decided to elaborate, his voice becoming increasingly quiet as it wasn't something he'd ever told her before, "You always... You always looked out of me, you were the only one."

"I never looked out for you," Annie said seriously and it was his turn to look at her as if she'd lost her mind.

"Yes you did, you taught me to take care of myself when Crystal was sick and you worked a million hours to pay for us and I-I don't think I could've survived without you."

"Michael, that was the worst thing I could've done in that situation. You were a very small child, you were like two or three or something and you shouldn't have_ had_ to take care of yourself. The adult thing to do would've been to put you in foster care where you'd be taken care of properly but I didn't because I hated foster care. And the reason I had to work myself to death was because I was paying for all of us, paying the rent and bills for both of us instead of moving us into one place. And I was still drinking! I could've afforded to pay for someone to take care of you and Crystal then but I didn't because I didn't _want_ to live with a toddler I rarely saw and the cancer-ridden girl my brother had knocked up who I barely even knew, I didn't want the responsibility and I certainly didn't want to stop drinking over it."

"Well really it shouldn't have been your responsibility but you did anyway because you're a good person," Michael insisted and Annie scowled.

"I taught you to take care of yourself so I could get away with it, I taught you because I wished someone had taught me so when my Dad drank himself to death I could've been better prepared to take care of him, Jack and myself. But I was wrong. I was only six years old, I shouldn't have had to be responsible for them, that was my Father's job and he fucked it up. My Dad was responsible for me, just like I was responsible for you and expecting a child to step up to that plate is wrong. And even after that, all those years I never realized you were being abused and I used to read medical text books to you and teach you about injuries!"

"What?! But I loved that!" Michael protested, shocked and hurt by the fact she seemed to think everything she'd done for him was bad.

"You could love setting buildings on fire, it doesn't mean it's something to be encouraged!" Annie shot back determinedly, "I was a terrible aunt to you, I'm a terrible person and the last thing you should be doing is thinking otherwise and aspiring to be like me! Being an alcoholic isn't a fun personality trait, it's a serious problem that I have and one that I don't wish upon you. Stop while you still have a chance, it'll only make your life worse not better and you're deluding yourself if you think otherwise. It'll screw up yourself, your life, your relationships, your magic and your health. Now get out."

"What?" Michael wondered as Annie stopped the car outside his home, "Can't I spend some time with you first?"

"Have you been listening to nothing I've been saying?!" Annie snapped at him with a roll of her eyes as she also hit the button to roll down one of the back windows, "You're better off away from me! Now go."

"Annie-"

"I said go!" Annie barked more fiercely.

Michael blinked back tears as he climbed out of the car, she whipped out a wand flicked it. His trunk launched itself out of the back window to the pavement beside him, she drove off without another word. He watched until it had driven out of sight, tears leaking from his mismatched eyes. Now he'd lost his best friend and his aunt. He dragged his trunk over to the door, dragging his heart with it.

* * *

James had given what Xerxes had said a lot of thought, the Shadow was right really. Why was he being loyal to the family that had turned his back on him? He was in the right so really by turning against him it made them the bad ones, the Shadows were helping him so they couldn't be so bad. His opinions were only solidified by their actions, he didn't see a single family member aside from Cel for all those weeks he was left to rot in a cell before his trial. With every day his misery became more and more contorted into rage, not a single person, not even his father who was probably sitting just a few floors over his head. He saw them for the trial though, he could see them sitting watching and secretly rooting against him. Carver was there too. Molly and Lucy were the only ones missing, the blood traitor had abandoned him although he could forgive Lucy, being stuck in Muggle School he doubted very much she was even aware of what was happening with him let alone had been given the option to attend his trial. A trial that was going rather poorly.

Koray was completely over-dramatizing his injury, making it sound like he had permanent problems with his lungs. The Slytherin was no better, the brat actually had crocodile tears - he'd made the boy cry before, he knew when they were real tears - as he stammered through certain parts of his fabrication. So what if James had hit him a few times? It was bullshit that he was physically sick with fear and dread every day, that he skipped meals, lay awake at night in pain and fear, that he had even started contemplating suicide as an escape. He still claimed to be having nightmares, the others seemed to just lap up this lie. Marigold testified about his injuries, James didn't see how they could take his word for it considering he too was a scumbag Slytherin and had put the whole school at risk by giving in to mild torture. As if a wizard could be tortured by a mother, what had she done? Threatened to send him to his room? Marigold had healed these alleged injuries anyway so it was just his word that people had been hurt at all, he'd also apparently not healed Koray properly which was a sign of either his incompetence or favoritism to only heal his own house. Antonius Ashain surprisingly had both the best and the worst testimony for James.

"He didn't want the injured boy to get help so I disarmed him with the wand on the ground, he grabbed it off me and started hitting me so hard he knocked out my wobbly tooth and made me fall asleep," Antonius recounted emotionlessly with an expressionless face, eyes and faces twisted sympathetically, "But so _what_? You're having a whole trial because he hit me a few times? The Shadows are out there doing worse to people and you're wasting time on _this?_ James Potter isn't worth your time, he's just pathetic."

On one hand, he at least did seem to realize how pointless the trial was for bullying of all things but on the other, it was because he felt James was pathetic. It infuriated him to no end to hear the brat dismiss him as if he was nothing, James clenched his fists angrily. How dare he think he was nothing?! Antonius was nothing. His own mother didn't love him and he had something seriously wrong with him, at least James was sane. How he wished he could bash his little face in again, that would who him who was nothing. Obviously he couldn't though. James tried to defend himself, pointing out how they were ganging up on him and playing up these alleged injuries, making up lies. He admitted he'd lost his temper but since when were people jailed for that? It wasn't as if he'd hurt people, the Slytherin was scum and Koray was just as bad to defend him, Antonius was some kind of freak of nature. James was found guilty.

James was terrified of being sent to prison, it was bad enough in the Ministry cells but a real prison? The conditions would be beyond atrocious and he'd have scumbag prisoners in with him, bad people who he didn't deserve to be around. Bad people who might hurt him, he'd do anything to escape his unfair fate. His mother and grandmother pretended to cry as he was led away, his brother and sister too, his father just looked away. He bet they were glad, glad to be rid of him and he felt his anger returning. The next time he saw Xerxes, he was going to take the offer in both hands, the Shadows couldn't possibly be worse than prison. And he was not disappointed. One of the Aurors led him into an interrogation room as he was told someone wanted to speak to him, that someone being Xerxes.

"Yes," James breathed desperately upon seeing him, staring up into the taller man's striking violet eyes, "I'll do whatever you want, don't let them lock me up."

"Don't worry, James, we've got your back," Xerxes assured him and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, "And unlike your treacherous family, we're not going to abandon you. _I'm_ not going to abandon you. I promise."

"Thank you," James offered gratefully, "You've been so good to me, I'm not going to let you down. You're right, people like us should stick together."

Xerxes opened his mouth to reply but was silenced as the door burst open, James spun in shock expecting an Auror but instead saw the last person he'd thought it would be: Carver. The Auror who'd led him there - and who he noticed now stood in the corner of the interrogation room - raised his wand, Carver simply gestured before it was finished being raised though and the Auror's wand moved away from him. The Auror's wand fired a jet of red light at its owner while still hovering in the air, he crumpled to the ground unconscious and the wand floated into Carver's waiting hand. James hadn't even realized that was possible.

"Had to leave my wand at the front desk," Carver brushed it off, looking almost bored. He flicked the wand and James' shackles disintegrated, he rubbed his wrists and would've made to hug Carver if his friend didn't still have the wand raised.

"You've been spending time with Pyrrhus, haven't you?" Xerxes commented in a disapproving tone, Carver gave an indeterminate shrug in answer, "What are you even doing here? You could've waited to see James, I'm saving him now."

"He's not going with you."

"Yes I am," James spoke up in confusion, he'd assumed Carver being there was part of the plan. His friend sighed heavily, flicked his gaze to the ground and then back to him before reluctantly speaking.

"He's a Soul Eater, James. So is that Auror I just stunned," Carver admitted as if he was greatly ashamed, "They're only going to free you so they indoctrinate you."

"I already know," James said acidly and Carver's beautifully blue eyes widened in surprise, Xerxes looked between them with interest, "Xerxes told me."

"And... And it doesn't bother you?"

"What bothers me is your father is more honest with me in five months he's known me then you've been in the five years I've known you," James spat, realizing that he was upset about the deception now he was face to face with him. Carver looked abashed, "I've agreed to join them, they're saving me because they appreciate me unlike my family."

"I came here to save you too except not with a price tag because I care about you."

"Carver, please," Xerxes scoffed, "Save him? As soon as he leaves this place he'll be a fugitive, alone you can't get him out of the country let alone provide him with any kind of life except fleeing and hiding. I have a Specter waiting to get him out of the country immediately, a proper cooked meal, a warm bed and real clothes waiting."

"That sounds nice," James admitted, he'd had none of that in prison.

"Then take my hand, let's go," Xerxes offered with a kindly smile, holding out his hand to him.

"Please don't do this, Jay," Carver pleaded quietly, "You're not right in the head, they're just going to warp your mind further. These aren't good people and they don't do good things, they've murdered several members of your family already, your family who_ do_ love you. Don't go with him, I can't promise you a great life but at least it will be your life, you won't be lost in the Shadows."

"You're the one not thinking straight here!" James protested, hurt and angry at his friend's insult. He took Xerxes' outstretched and immediately felt himself being transported away, leaving his irrational friend behind. He hoped Carver would be okay though.

* * *

_Tommy thought he'd been doing well repressing his magic although Sal thought it was a terrible idea when she found out, until Master Rodolphus decided to demonstrate torture and killing on an innocent man. Despite what he said, the muggle seemed just as human as any of them. And he'd snapped, seeing Master Rodolphus torture his sister after he'd made Brutus into a killer. He'd seen a potential downside of repressing his magic, it erupted from him like a volcano to lash out at the cruel world and his evil master. It was like nothing he'd ever experienced, power surged through his veins like never before. He'd never felt so powerful as the raw energy danced within him, the sensation was so euphoric he laughed. For the first time in his life he laughed as the world crumbled around him._

_And then it started to hurt, the power felt so good but caused him so much pain as it started to overwhelm him and his laughter became screams. He let it leave him and instead just decided to kill Master Rodolphus for once and for all, he'd hoped simply pointing at him would encourage the magic to destroy him but instead it had conjured an increasingly giant ball of fire to incinerate him. Tommy had been on board, angry at all that the master had done to him and Sal, to Rabastan, Brutus and even that muggle. He felt so angry. But then Master Rodolphus had cried and begged, seeing his body broken, his face twisted in pain, the tears streaming from his eyes. Tommy could only think of himself and Sal, could relate to the pain he was in, the pain Tommy was causing. If he killed him then he'd become a Master, maybe they'd be free but at what cost? He'd have become one of them, become the very thing he despised._

_That was the true thing he hated, not the muggles. The Masters who hurt them, who denied them freedom. And he'd let it go, stopped Sal and his magic had also undone the damage he'd did. He didn't know how, if he'd consciously tried to do that then he would've failed. He'd been shattered after that though, passed out so Master Rodolphus had had to wait to punish him. And he had. Tommy had been tortured extensively and brutalized, he supposed it was a fair trade. He also felt oddly sad that Master Rodolphus couldn't feel the same sympathy that he'd felt. He was returned to the basement which he was horrified to see now had Dementors guarding it, he backed away in terror as he felt the warmth drained from him. He noticed Sal then, standing in the corner with her arms crossed watching him through black eyes as her whole face was discolored from bruising. Clearly she had been punished as well._

_"What's with the Dementors?" Tommy croaked out, his ribs hurting as he spoke._

_"They decided to add an extra precaution after what you did," Sal pointed out icily as he walked towards him, she seemed almost... angry._

_"You're not mad at me, are you?" Tommy wondered worriedly._

_"Mad at you?! YOU BETRAYED ME!" Sal shot out at him furiously, he saw she was literally shaking with rage, "YOU HAD HIM! FREEDOM WAS WITHIN OUR GRASP AND YOU BETRAYED ME!"_

_"I had to do what I thought was right! I had to protect him!"_

_"He's evil! Look what he did to you after you protected him! We're supposed to be in this together but you protect that monster over your own twin!" Sal shouted at him, hurt mingling with her anger, "How could you do that?!"_

_"HE'S STILL A PERSON!" Tommy protested defensively, frustrated himself at her attitude, "IF WE KILLED HIM THEN WE'D BE AS BAD AS HIM! WE'D BETRAY OURSELVES!"_

_"DON'T YOU TWIST THIS ON ME!" Sal screamed at him, jabbing an accusing finger and blue light erupted around her despite the Dementors, casting an eerie glow, "YOU'RE WRONG, HE DESERVES TO DIE! HE DESERVES TO DIE FOR WHAT HE'S DONE TO US! THEY ALL DO! SIDING WITH HIM IS BETRAYING YOURSELF AND BETRAYING ME!"_

_"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO'S WRONG! IF WE BECOME MASTERS WE ONLY LOSE WHO WE ARE NOT GAIN FREEDOM!" Tommy shot back and he was abruptly blown back by her magic, he was thrown back and thrown against the wall. He fell to the ground and the light died, Sal stood there breathing heavily._

_"I will be free," Sal promised him quietly and darkly, her flinty eyes meeting his identical ones, "And I don't care what I have to do or how many I have to kill to get it, we have to save ourselves because no one is going to do it for us. I won't be a prisoner forever."_


	14. Chapter 14: Fears and Foes

_**Parts (56-59)**_

* * *

**V  
**

**Chapter 14  
**

Fears and Foes

* * *

**Part 1: **Letting Go

* * *

"The best way to do this would be to do what you did to me before," Varanian said to him one of the days, "When he tries to read your mind instead of pushing him out, you reach into his mind. There's no defense against it and he can't do anything to your mind unless he gets you out of his first, no matter how skilled he is you will have time to enact the plan. Instead of cycling through his memories like you did to me, you implant the false memory into his mind then get out and act like he just unearthed your secret."

"Okay, how do I do that?" Scorpius asked.

"For starters, let's see if you can get back into my mind. I don't know if you're naturally talented or you just got lucky that one time because it's actually quite tricky to do so we need to get that down first, remember you're trying to pierce my mind not push me out."

The question of whether he was naturally talented or just lucky was answered after a full two hours of nothing, much to Scorpius' great disappointment. He thought being better at Occlumency actually made it harder now as he kept accidentally shoving him out, he had to resist the urge to protect his mind as usual but if he resisted the urge too much then Varanian got into his mind instead of the other way around. Varanian assured him not to worry about it though and they did have time to work on it, which they did although in much shorter bursts in between the other things. He was still having no luck though and Varanian didn't offer much advice.

"It's not something you can explain easily, practice is the best way," Varanian pointed out and scratched his scarred chin, "At least that's what my Grandfather told me, like I said I'm not an expert and I don't even know how commonly used or difficult this is. Is there anything in my mind or memories that you would want to see?"

"Not particularly," Scorpius admitted, confused by the question, "Why?"

"Because you have to _want_ to get inside the invader's head not to respect their privacy, like with all magic if you subconsciously think you'll fail or want to fail then you usually will. Having something in particular you want can help overcome that."

"I want to be able to plant the memory. Does that count?"

"You need to be able to get in first to do that," Varanian shook his head, "Legilimency requires focus, you're not just wandering aimlessly through someone's head. Once you get in, you have to navigate through the many layers and delve in yourself. You'll need to get to memories to implant it so you need to focus on getting through to memories, that's done by diving through surface thoughts which is the top layer essentially. The reason it can't be protected when he's already trying to invade your mind is because the invader's mind isn't blank when trying to do that like is needed for Occlumency, you'll get a memory linked to those thoughts regardless of whether you can read them or not and from there you would navigate your way to whatever you're trying to get or in our case give him the false memory. It doesn't really matter if you get what you're looking for, you just need to get in and having a goal can help with that. Do you understand?"

"I think so," Scorpius said with a nod, "I still don't really have anything I want to see though."

"I don't really want my mind to be read either but you have to practice this and it's the only way," Varanian sighed, "You're going to have to do the same for Rutherford so think about something you're curious about with him too."

Scorpius supposed it made sense, however he did still feel reluctant to invade Varanian's privacy especially after upsetting him last time. Still though, he made an effort to try be curious about Varanian's past on the next few attempts. At first it didn't seem to be working but eventually, he did manage to break though. Varanian was right, it was hard to describe as it was all happening inside their heads. It was almost as if he was an arrow or a spell or something piercing his body and falling through into his mind. Scorpius then found he was running into the kitchen, he'd taken a drastic drop in height as he would be unable to even reach the counters.

"Mummy! Mummy!" a very young child's voice squeaked yet it somehow still sounded like Varanian, he almost tripped over his own feet to get to the table, "Look what I did, Mummy!"

He glanced up at the figure sitting at the table, an aging woman with graying tawny hair and thin lips who was going over some rolls of parchment. Scorpius also deduced what Varanian was telling her about, he could feel his pride and excitement. He was holding up his hands and there were maybe half a dozen paper bird shapes, all colored in differently with patterns and all flying at presumably Varanian's underage magic. The woman - presumably his mother - didn't give him so much as a glance.

"That's great, sweetie," the mother said unenthusiastically, still without looking away from the paper, "Mummy's busy working or we can't go after some bad people tomorrow, why don't you go show Hilda?"

"Okay, Mummy," Varanian told her obediently despite the pang of disappoint Scorpius felt him feel as he raced back through the kitchen, almost tripping again to push open another door as he rushed outside, Hilda! Hilda! Look what I did!"

The house seemed to be a in a clearing or at least on the edge of a forest as the area beyond the grass was all wooded, there were two people outside. One he recognized as Varanian's grandfather and the other was a woman in her twenties who bore an incredibly uncanny resemblance to Varanian, her hair was also short and tawny although much neater and parted in the middle. They seemed to be in the middle of practicing dueling as they both had to lower their wands to scowl with irritation at the toddler or at least very small child approaching them, Varanian didn't notice the unwelcome greeting though. As she saw him, the woman's face twisted into a look of absolute and utter contemptuous loathing that he'd never have expected to see aimed towards a child. She flicked her wand and the paper birds were immediately incinerated, Varanian burst into tears. Scorpius felt his shock, hurt and confusion at why his sister had just decided to destroy them.

"That's what you get when you don't make sure your eyes are the same color, you have bad eyes and bad blood," the woman snapped at him remorselessly, "Don't you dare cry, pipsqueak."

"Not in front of people," the grandfather added gruffly but didn't have hatred in his eyes at least, Scorpius also noticed he didn't have a cane yet, "It's a sign of weakness."

Varanian turned and ran back into the house, unable to stop his flow of tears at the destruction of his precious and miraculous flying birds but not wanting to disappoint his grandfather by crying in front of him. Scorpius found himself wondering if any of Varanian's family were particularly nice to him and immediately felt the scene change, Varanian was still crying except this time he had his face buried into what Scorpius would guess was a pillow and was crying for more than birds. Scorpius felt his grief tearing him up inside, it almost physically hurt.

"Pip?" a man's voice called and there was a knock.

"Go away!" Varanian shot over his shoulder, revealing he was lying on his front although his vision was so blurry from tears to see where he was and he immediately went back to sobbing into the probable pillow.

The man apparently ignored him though as Scorpius heard the click of a door opening, approaching footsteps and finally a slight scrape of ceramic against wood as if something had been put down. Varanian turned his head to the right, blinking back enough tears to see a bowl now on a bedside table and from the enticing smell it was soup. Varanian sat up to look at its deliverer, a young man with a golden ear ring in one ear and short dark hair that parted in the middle. He bore a strong resemblance to Varanian's father and grandfather although had very thin lips like the mother, Scorpius thought he was probably a brother of Varanian's.

"I brought you some soup, figured out might want something to eat," the man offered, Varanian threw an angry look at the bowl as if it were the source of all his problems before lashing out with his arm - Scorpius would guess he was younger than a teenager but much older than the last memory from the length of it, it was hard to guess his age when seeing from his eyes - and sending it hurtling across the floor.

"I don't want soup, Kenyon, I want Dad!" Varanian screamed at him despite knowing his request was pointless and childish, his voice breaking as more sobs escaped him and his heart twisted painfully while the man - presumably Kenyon - looked sympathetic.

"Dad's dead, Pip, you can't have him."

"I know what dead is!" Varanian yelled brokenly and buried his face back into his hands, knowing he shouldn't cry in front of people. Scorpius felt the weight shift on the bed and guessed Kenyon had now sat down beside him.

"Come here," Kenyon offered gently.

Scorpius felt him put his arms around him, Varanian buried his head in his brother's chest instead and clung to him tightly as he continued to cry uncontrollably. His body shook from the force of the sobs, Kenyon apparently realized nothing really could ease his brother's pain and simply held him close. It made Scorpius wonder how he'd been after his grandfather had died, he felt the scene shifting again immediately. He was outside this time and it was clearly night, Varanian seemed much taller and was dragging his trunk behind him, occasionally shivering at the biting cold. It seemed like some kind of underpass as Varanian moved away from the flickering muggle streetlamp and further into the shadows beneath the bridge, which was probably best considering the obscene graffiti climbing the walls.

Scorpius was disturbed but not by the scenery, he could feel Varanian's pain except this time it was physical, he felt battered. He was uncomfortably reminded of how he'd felt after a beating with the muggles, his body ached all over as if from bruises and his stomach was so hungry it was digesting itself. Varanian stopped by particularly untouched segment of wall, his body shaking weakly from the exertion. There was a twinge of pain and Scorpius noticed him shrinking a bit, realizing Varanian had altered his appearance and reverting back. He slumped to the ground, bruises now clearly visible from the dim streetlight before he wrapped his arms around himself for the pitiful warmth it provided. He sighed as he closed his gritty eyes.

It was so stupid, he knew so many spells that could help him but he couldn't use them because he was underage. He couldn't even set up the spell to shield against that because that would tip the Ministry off, he couldn't risk being expelled or them sending him back to his foster family. He couldn't even use the money he had to buy a room for the night or food, he didn't know how much his Hogwarts things would cost that year as he still didn't have the list yet so he needed to save his money for that to make sure he could go back. He shivered again as he lay down on the hard, cold concrete, protectively placing his body in front of the trunk and curling up to try get warm. It was better though, better than having to deal with his foster brother. He was never going back, he'd rather stay on the streets. He was fifteen in a few days, he could take care of himself.

Scorpius recalled vaguely Varanian mentioning he'd ran away, he hadn't given it much thought though. He'd meant more about Varanian's immediate grief then what had happened to him when he had no family members left to live with, the scene began to change as if by command to a similarly aged Varanian blinking back tears as he walked away from the stone gargoyle of the Headmaster's chambers and Scorpius felt the turmoil of his grief again. He wondered if that was actually it, did he just feel curious about something and the memory changed to something to do with that? Was it that easy to cycle through someone's head?

Varanian headed into the first door to an unused room, slamming the door behind him as the tears started leaking from his eyes. It was a bright and airy room, sunlight filtering in readily through the large windows opposite the door which was in complete contrast to the dark mood he was in. He turned away from it to the blank stretch of wall, he couldn't believe his grandfather was dead. Everyone was dead. His whole family was dead. He was alone, he was completely alone. He gave a cry of anguish and banged his fists against the stone, to his - and Scorpius' - surprise there was an immense crash from behind him. He spun to see the windows all shattering, the glass raining down and hopefully not on any students.

He backed up against the wall and slumped to the ground, clutching at his hair as the tears continued to stream from his eyes. He'd probably be in trouble for that but he didn't care, his grandfather was dead so why would he care? He hugged his knees to his chest and buried his face into it as he cried, the pain of loss feeling like a gaping physical wound. How could his grandfather die? He was all he had left, how could his grandfather die and just leave him alone? How could he even die?! He was the toughest person he knew.

"Pip?" a voice questioned, this time a girl and his head shot up almost instantaneously to the door to his right which had Ethel poking her head in. She looked around Scorpius' age unlike other times he'd seen her and was dressed in her Hogwarts Gryffindor robes, her hair was still curly and brown, hanging lose much like Molly's. She was quite beautiful, slender yet curvaceous and had quite pale skin.

"Leave me alone," Varanian croaked at her immediately, Scorpius felt his shame at her seeing him in a moment of weakness. His grandfather would hate it if he cried in front of someone after all, especially when he was crying for him. Ethel ignored him though, closing the door and coming to sit by him regardless which had him try to wipe away his still falling tears, "How did you even find me?"

"Well I saw McGonagall drag you away to see Dumbledore and then when the windows for a room on this floor suddenly shattered, I figured it was probably you," Ethel explained readily, "Most people don't blow up windows when they're upset."

"It was an accident!"

"Most people don't blow up windows when they're upset _accidentally,_" Ethel added and Varanian tried to wipe his eyes again, quite futile considering Scorpius could still feel fresh ones rolling down his cheeks, "What happened?"

"My Grandfather died," Varanian told her, his voice cracking on a sob and his heart wrenching from grief again as he looked away from her, his grief drowning his shame.

"I'm so sorry," Ethel offered, sounding sincere and he felt her put a hand onto his shoulder.

"He's dead, Ethel, they're all dead. Everyone I love is dead, everyone dies on me," Varanian choked out, finding it hard to speak through the lump in his throat, "He's dead, they're all dead. I'm just alone."

"You still have me," Ethel assured him and he looked back to her, for a moment feeling a glimmer of comfort that was obliterated by more overpowering fear and negativity.

"You'll just die too."

"I won't, Pip!" Ethel protested, reaching out to caress his cheek as if to reassure him she was still there.

"Promise?" Varanian asked stupidly and childishly but extremely desperate for even an irrational assurance, Scorpius sadly knew it was a promise she couldn't keep, "Promise me you won't die too."

"I promise."

Scorpius felt himself abruptly being pushed mentally, Ethel's face vanished and Scorpius almost lost his balance in real life but managed to right himself before he could fall of his chair. He looked around and saw he was back in reality, sitting in the basement opposite Varanian like he'd been when the spell was cast. It was a much gentler trip then the last time and Varanian gave him the weakest of smiles.

"Well done," Varanian offered, probably pleased with his success but not from having to relive those memories.

"Sorry," Scorpius apologized and made a mental note to try make Varanian remember happier things next time so it would be less unpleasant for him.

One success didn't mean they stopped doing it after all, Scorpius failed again for the next several tries. He'd likely only get one shot with Rutherford, they needed to make sure he didn't fail. Scorpius almost wished they'd spend more time on it but admittedly he preferred the dueling and Transfiguration, he'd guess Varanian would focus more on it as it drew closer to his time to return to Hogwarts which was getting closer. The next time he succeeded it was at the start of the Easter break a few days later, meaning he had just a fortnight left until he could finally return to Hogwarts. He was specifically focused on getting into his mind to see if he also had ever struggled with not knowing what career he wanted, he was mildly curious and he thought it wouldn't be so bad. It worked immediately, he shot into Varanian's head like a bullet and into the memory. This time finding it unexpectedly at a point in Varanian's adult life, if an adult Ethel was anything to go by. She was looking extremely anxious as she strode over to him, Varanian was sitting at some kitchen counter with a half-empty cup of pumpkin juice.

"How could you get fired again?" Ethel asked of him tiredly when she reached him.

"I didn't get fired, I quit," Varanian insisted defensively, it was only sort of a lie and Ethel rolled her eyes.

"That makes it so much better!"

"Well it's not my fault my boss was an idiot! How does it look unprofessional to stack shelves with magic instead of by hand?! Just because he's an incompetent Hogwarts drop out, it doesn't mean that the rest of us are! It takes me five seconds to do with a wand what it takes five minutes to do by hand, they're much straighter with magic and they're not hurt by magic!" Varanian protested, Ethel sighing and pinching the bridge of her nose, "But he keeps wanting me to use my hands because it's safe and more professional apparently, in what universe?!"

"It doesn't matter!" Ethel shot out in frustration.

"Yes it does, I was right and he was wrong!"

"It doesn't matter who's right or wrong, it matters he's the boss and you have to do what he says if you want to keep your job! Even if he's a jackass or an idiot, he's the one with the money! Merlin's sake, Pip, is it really so hard to swallow your pride and do as you're told?!" Ethel yelled at him and looked almost on the verge of tears, "It wouldn't matter except I can't work right now because I'd be arrested for being a muggle-born, you _need_ to be able to hold a job for more than five minutes if we're going to survive this war! My parents can't pay for themselves, us and the three kids!"

"I know. I_ can_ hold a job," Varanian muttered, looking away as if to hide the shame he felt at being unable to provide for his family and annoyance that there was a war going on but he was doing nothing to protect them. What would his grandfather think? "It's just hard when I know I'm right."

"Sometimes it doesn't matter who's right, Pip."

Scorpius wanted it to change, he didn't really want to hear them fight and he was trying to make Varanian happier memories after all. Maybe a happier time with them as a couple or with Varanian's kids, he hadn't seen a memory of them yet. The scene obediently changed again, this time Ethel was still an adult except maybe a bit younger. Only this time she was also very obviously and heavily pregnant, she was sitting by an open back door where he could see a beautiful sunset lighting up the sky and bathing her in golden light as she watched it. He felt Varanian's lips curl into a smile as he finished doing the dishes and walked over to her.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Ethel commented to him.

"Yes, you are," Varanian offered, deliberately not commenting on the sunset.

"I'm a pregnant lump!" Ethel laughed and Varanian's grin only seemed to widen as he put his arms around her.

"Yeah but you're _my_ pregnant lump."

"You're the worst, that is so cheesy," Ethel complained with a roll of her eyes but she was still smiling as she pressed her soft lips against his, she didn't smell of cherries...

Scorpius wanted another memory now, it felt strange to be experiencing Varanian's wife kissing him while Scorpius was seeing through his eyes. The kids. He wanted to see the kids. The scene shifted again and he saw two small children maybe four and five with the same wild curly hair as Ethel although the girl had hers tied in a busy ponytail and the boy's was shorter then both, howling with giddy delight as they raced around a living room couch for... a game or something. Varanian was watching them in amusement while also holding a baby, he reached out to scratch an itch on his chin with his free hand only to feel something grasp it. He glanced to see the baby starting to chew on his thumb, or rather just gum it since the child didn't seem to have teeth yet. If Sol was anything to go by, Scorpius would guess a few months old. Less than a year but older than a newborn, the baby - he wasn't sure on the gender - had a head of scruffy tawny hair though. The baby continued trying to eat his father's finger quite enthusiastically.

"So you don't want your yummy baby food but you want to eat me?" Varanian commented to his baby.

"Goga," the baby babbled without letting go of his thumb, covering it more in slobber in fact.

"Can you say 'Dada'?"

"Goga."

"Can you say 'Mama'?"

"Goga."

"Can you say anything?"

"Goga."

"What does that even mean?" Varanian laughed, not that he expected an answer.

"Daddy, I don't think babies speak English," a child's voice stated with certainty and he glanced down to see the other two had stopped to see what he was doing, the elder looking of the two had spoken. The little girl and Scorpius noticed the baby's hair becoming curled and brown to match its siblings.

"How do you think they_ learn_ to speak English?" Varanian questioned with a grin, she looked like she'd just had her mind blown.

"If I tawk to Jasper will he learn to speaking Engwish too?" the younger child asked in imperfect English excitedly, reaching into his pocket to pull out a worm.

"No."

"What about Suzie?" the boy asked with an undeterred smile and reached into his pocket, this time to pull out a battered looking spider that twitched slightly as the only possible indicator that it was alive after being squished into his pocket. Varanian sighed.

"What have your Mother and I told you about keeping bugs in your pockets?" Varanian chastised him gently and the boy gave a very sheepish grin.

"But they're my friends, Daddy," the boy said innocently before frowning and jabbing his finger at the baby in panic, "Daddy, the baby try is to eating you!"

Varanian resisted the urge to laugh, his daughter had no such restraint though and laughed. Scorpius wondered what she was like and the scene started shifting, this time he was outside. It was in some kind of grassy area with a tree, Scorpius wasn't sure what kind but it was sturdy enough to climb which seemed to be what Varanian's daughter was trying to do. She was wearing a white dress that had probably been nicer when not stained by dirt or grass and was standing on a upturned large pot used for cooking, straining to reach the lowest branch. Her little hand was just slightly too far away to grasp it though, she was so focused she didn't noticed her father approaching.

"What'cha doing?" Varanian commented and she was so shocked she almost fell off the pot.

"Err... R-Reading," the girl lied stupidly, fiddling with her hair and pawing at the pot with her feet.

"Sweetie, when you tell a lie the point is that it has to be believable."

"Oh. Okay. I was cooking."

"Cooking?" Varanian queried in amused bemusement.

"Because the pot," the girl explained and gestured to it beneath her feet as she looked up hopefully, "Betterer isn't it?"

"Keep trying. Just never to me," Varanian offered seriously and his daughter nodded with a sheepish grin, "So why did you take this pot?"

"To be tallerer so I can climb the tree," the girl explained and sighed, "It didn't work."

"Come here," Varanian said as he held out his arms to pick her up, lifting the small child up and placing her on the branch she'd been trying to get onto it, "That better?"

"Yes!" the girl squealed excitedly, her toothy smile widening to engulf her face and he noticed she was missing a tooth, "Thanks Daddy, Mummy wouldn't help me climb a tree ever."

"Mummy just worries you'll fall and hurt yourself," Varanian pointed out in his wife's defense and his daughter glanced down at him curiously.

"Then why don't you be worries I'll fall and hurt myself?"

"I do," Varanian insisted truthfully.

"Then why did you help me climb the tree?"

"Because you learn more from trying and failing then never trying at all," Varanian told her and she looked very thoughtful at this before turning back to the view, looking around the tree.

"Now that I am this high, I kind of want to climb higherer," the girl admitted, Varanian reached out and promptly plucked her from the branch to return her to the ground.

"That can wait for another day, you need to get cleaned up now because you grandparents are coming for dinner and I have to do _real_ cooking with this pot you took."

"Oh. Sorry, Daddy," the girl offered apologetically with another sheepish grin as he lifted the pot which was covered in dirt where it had been pressed into the ground.

Scorpius wondered whether she ever had got to climb higher, he wasn't sure how old she'd been when she died. He immediately regretted thinking that though as the scene changed, Varanian was lying on a hard surface he'd guess was the ground now and his closed eyes made it impossible to see the surroundings. Scorpius had an idea though as Varanian as in agony, it felt as though every single fiber of his body was being drilled into with red hot knives. Scorpius wasn't the slightest bit surprised that Varanian was screaming as his body thrashed around from the pain, he wished he could scream himself. He was surprised though by the voice he heard next.

"ENOUGH!" the daughter's voice shrieked shrilly and he felt Varanian's panic at her getting involved, the pain stopped although weakening residual waves of agony washed through him, the girl sounded like she was crying, "Leave my Daddy alone."

"Get back here!" Ethel's voice hissed desperately and Scorpius noticed Varanian was still in pain, his body stinging painfully from presumably wounds he'd already received.

"Don't," Varanian croaked.

His voice was hoarse from screaming and his eyes finally shot open to see his little girl standing directly between a masked Death Eater with his wand aimed at her and Varanian on the ground. Her hair wasn't in a ponytail now and she was wearing pajamas, he'd guess she'd probably either gotten or been taken out of bed. She was shaking with fear but made no move to go back to her mother, Varanian scrambled into a kneeling position and turned his daughter to face him to see her cheeks stained with still falling tears.

"Go back to your Mother, do as you're told," Varanian insisted but she only bit her quivering lip before throwing her arms around him and Scorpius noticed he was shirtless from the chill in the air, his arms were bloody from deep welts that he'd guess was the source of his pain.

"Daddy, I don't like seeing you hurt!" the girl sobbed onto his shoulder and he held her tight, despite knowing the Death Eaters were probably going to do something any second.

"Better me then you, just stay with Mummy. Do you understand?!" Varanian urged her more forcefully and he felt her no as she pulled away slightly, her eyes red and blotchy from crying, tears mingling with the snot streaming from her nose.

"I'm scared," she whispered tearfully.

"It's okay to be scared but it'll be alright, just go sit with Mummy."

"I love you, Daddy."

It was the last thing she ever said, it was either a non-verbal spell or Varanian didn't hear it as a jet of green struck her in the back and his vision exploded into blinding emerald light. Someone screamed 'no' but the whooshing sound of the magic drowned it out, when the light left it had taken his daughter's life with it. Her lifeless body fell into Varanian's arms, unseeing eyes staring at him blankly and he cried uncontrollably as he held her. Scorpius felt Varanian's heart-wrenching anguish, pain worse than anything they'd done to him and guilt. Unbearable guilt. She'd just died right in front of him, died because she'd been brave enough to stand up to the Death Eaters _for him. _Too stupid and young to realize she shouldn't do that. Scorpius felt incredibly disturbed and saddened himself, she'd been no older than five or six... Varanian looked to the Death Eater who'd fired the curse, the torturer.

"That's what happens when children get in the way, maybe you should have taught her to behave," the Death Eater taunted and despite the mask, Scorpius and Varanian both knew he was smiling with sadistic delight.

And then Scorpius felt himself being pulled away from it all again, he half-expected to find himself on the ground and the basement destroyed again but Varanian apparently had more self-control this time. The metamorphmagus had left his seat before Scorpius could say anything, walking closer to the steps and keeping his back to him. Scorpius opened and closed his mouth a few times, wanting to say something, anything to comfort him as Varanian never had really dealt with his pain.

"You... You shouldn't blame yourself, you know?" Scorpius stammered out and Varanian shot him sharp look, his eyes glistening with unshed tears, one silver and one blue yet still piercing.

"Go away, I need to be alone," Varanian complained at him and Scorpius almost did for a minute but he didn't think that would help, he hadn't let Molly alone to cry after all and while he didn't think he'd hug Varanian as he cried, he needed to help somehow. Talking, that's what people said helped.

"What were their names? Your children?" Scorpius asked instead and Varanian blinked in surprise, looking at him as if he'd never heard such a strange thing in his life and something occurred to him, "Do you remember their names?"

"Of course I remember their names!" Varanian snapped at him fiercely and Scorpius realized that question may have been a little dumb or insensitive but pressed on, if he didn't talk to him then no one would.

"So what were they? I'd... I'd like to know," Scorpius reiterated and Varanian looked bemused again, finally swallowing and returning to him. He sat back on the chair and gestured to the photos, in particular one of the poor daughter who Scorpius had just seen die.

"Helen," Varanian told him hesitantly as if he hadn't spoken the name in a long time, "My daughter's name was Helen, after my Mother. She was almost six when..."

"She was very brave."

"I know she was," Varanian agreed and put his hand over his eyes.

"And the others?" Scorpius prompted when Varanian didn't continue.

"David," Varanian offered as he moved his hand away again to point to the boy, "Ethel's family often recycled names, naming them after grandparents. He... He was only four. He loved animals, creatures, bugs, plants... anything alive fascinated him. He literally wouldn't hurt a fly."

"And the baby?"

"Charon."

"Charon?" Scorpius repeated at the odd name.

"It's a name from Greek Mythology," Varanian protested defensively before sighing, "I'm not good at naming things. He was a baby, he couldn't walk or talk but he liked to eat or try to eat things. He was a metamorphmagus though, they have a high metabolism."

"How old was he?" Scorpius wondered and Varanian's expression darkened solemnly as he stared a picture of the baby, Scorpius already feeling ill knowing they killed a baby.

"He was exactly seven months and twenty days when he died... in my arms."

"It's not your fault, Varanian."

"How is not my fault?!" Varanian snapped at him angrily, "I was supposed to protect them but I failed and they died!"

"They were going to kill them no matter what," Scorpius pointed out with a strange degree of certainty, "It didn't matter what you did, they were always going to kill them."

"I survived!" Varanian protested bitterly and thought of something.

"Did they torture the children?"

"No," Varanian muttered unhappily, cringing slightly, "Small mercies."

"They just wanted to hurt you. And Ethel. For being a muggle-born and a blood traitor, you survived because they wanted to make you both suffer and the... your... the... your children were going to die just to do that, they didn't need to suffer. They probably waited until the best moments and... and killed them whereas they made sure you and Ethel survived longer to suffer, you only survived because of that," Scorpius tried to explain lamely, "You shouldn't blame yourself."

"It doesn't matter. What matters is they died and I couldn't protect them, I couldn't even protect myself. I was supposed to protect them," Varanian insisted, his eyes glistening with tears again and his face lined with pain. Telling Varanian wouldn't help, he needed him to realize it.

"Ethel was their mother, wasn't she supposed to protect them too?"

"I guess."

"Well she also failed. Are you mad at her?"

"Of course not!" Varanian yelled at him, looking offended.

"Helen was supposed to be sitting with her, she let her get away from her though, she let her get in the way and she didn't stop her."

"You can't blame her for that!"

"I'm not!" Scorpius insisted, holding up his hands in defense, "My point is that if you really thought about it, you could blame her just as easily as you could blame yourself and if she had lived instead of you then she could be just as hung up on guilt as you are. She died saving you, clearly protecting her family mattered to her just as much as to you. There's billions of things you didn't do or could've done, there is for any situation. What matters is what you _did_ do because at the end of the day, that's all you really have control over and you did try to protect her, you did _everything_ you could and you still failed. What does that tell you?"

"That I'm a failure?" Varanian guessed quietly and Scorpius noticed a tear roll down each cheek.

"That there was nothing you could've done, you tried as hard as you could and that's all you can do whether you succeeded or not doesn't matter. Well I mean does, it's horrible that they died but it doesn't make it your fault," Scorpius continued, surprised both that he was the one giving advice for a change and that Varanian at least seemed to be thinking about it, "If you could speak to Ethel right now this second, do you know what she'd say?"

"No."

"She'd say she wants you to stop feeling guilty over what's not your fault, that you have to learn to move on and let it go. She'd want that for you, to move forwards and have a chance at a happy life. If we survive the war and all," Scorpius told him, trying to use Ethel's exact words as much as possible from when he'd spoken to her shade, "And if you think I'm wrong then you didn't know Ethel as well as you thought you did. Your kids would also probably just want the same. You deserve it, we all do."

"You should be getting back," Varanian mumbled, wiping his eyes and looking away from him.

Scorpius muttered a goodbye as he stood to leave, deciding this time it was alright as he should probably be alone with his thoughts. He hoped he would think about it though, he had meant what he said on one hand and on another maybe Varanian could feel more confident in making their group official to fight the Shadows. And also... Despite their situations being very different, if Varanian could move on from his painful past then it gave Scorpius hope that maybe he could too. At some point. Varanian had had a few decades more to deal with things then he had after all.

* * *

**Part 2: **Past, Present and Future

* * *

Scorpius was afraid to ask how Varanian was doing and he didn't think Varanian would tell him anyway, he seemed to almost pretend the session with the memories had never happened so he had no idea whether Varanian had taken on board what he said or not. The closest he came to acknowledging it was taking him to a warehouse they were going to pretend was his hideout to trick Rutherford, the memory would still be false but it still needed to be of a real location the Aurors could go to. Scorpius had been there before anyway, it was where he'd taken him, Roman and Maurice before they went after the Scepter back in his Third Year. Aside from that though, they seemed to take a break from the Legilimency as the Easter break started which Scorpius supposed was fair enough. They hadn't spent too much on it anyway.

He expected that his four week suspension would put him behind on some of his subjects but on the plus side, he was definitely ahead when it came to Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts. He almost hadn't realized how terrible a teacher Midas was until he had Wyatt instead, when it came to practical magic you needed to actually _practice_ it not just focus on the theory with the odd one by one practical. Especially with Transfiguration which was more difficult than Charms, more precise and requiring more focus. Due to Florian being a Shadow she'd also wasted time going over things he had taught them instead of donating more time to the things they were supposed to learn for OWLs, he may be evil but he had been an effective teacher. He actually felt bad for the rest of them in his year, those who didn't practice in their free time would likely be screwed when they were told to transfigure anything with a post-Florian era spell.

At least they'd be alright in Defense Against the Dark Arts, however Varanian had taught him things they couldn't do in a classroom. There were too many of them in the class for Professor Ashain to be able to dedicate time on the techniques he was using like levitating objects to block curses, it was chaotic enough with just Scorpius using it without a whole class flinging things left and right. That week he'd got to work teaching him a spell to break bones, one to cause the ceiling to cave on and a particularly tricky conjuring spell - it was NEWT level - to create a block of concrete if there was nothing to use to levitate. Scorpius was getting faster and more accurate with the levitating though, he'd even impressed Varanian by duplicating - using the same spell he'd learned to multiply the werewolf bracelets - a table and throwing it into the path of a spell as extra fodder. All non-verbally! And he hadn't even practiced that particular spell non-verbally.

His Seeker practice also helped him greatly with agility and ability to wave and dodge, after all he did it all the time in the air to avoid Bludgers. He just needed to apply it to the ground. Scorpius found himself feeling something that he never thought he'd feel: powerful. He wasn't sure how he compared to real wizards or how he'd do in a real duel but he_ felt_ powerful, he felt more confident in himself and his abilities. In Hogwarts, it never seemed to feel like more than being praised for succeeding at something his parents had asked him to do as a child and was lost in the mundane school atmosphere. But here he was doing things that could apply to real scenarios of attack and with much less restraint - like what teacher in Hogwarts would have them practice caving in the actual ceiling? - then a classroom. He didn't feel like a defenseless, pathetically weak little child anymore, he felt like a wizard, he felt like he was truly capable of defending himself. He still wasn't sure how he would measure up in real life but he liked feeling good about himself for once, feeling stronger. Then there were his parents.

"You know this week is Molly's birthday?" Scorpius pointed out to them during the Easter break, "I was thinking maybe I could take her to a nice restaurant for a meal or something."

"Absolutely not," his father shot him down immediately and Scorpius blinked at him in surprise, "You're suspended, you can't go hanging out with your friends whenever you want."

"She's my _girl_friend and it's her birthday, it's the Easter break so I'd get this week off anyway."

"Well tough, you should have thought of that before you starting drinking."

Scorpius was forced to grit his teeth and bite his tongue, wishing he was at least being punished for something he'd done instead of for something Michael had done. He had to send off Free off with her gift instead, he'd gotten her a star for her charm bracelet because she was a star to him. He thought that would sound less lame in person. It turned out not to matter because she'd stayed in Hogwarts for the Easter break anyway as he learned from her reply to thank him, still it annoyed him though. Surely at fifteen he should be responsible for his own choices? If he wanted to disappear for hours without telling them or spend his girlfriend's birthday with her then he should be able to, how could they be telling him to make major decisions about his future if they didn't even make minor decisions about his life right now?

He did get to speak to Leebin again that week though, he was looking more exhausted than usual but then according his mother Lysel was doing very badly. He wasn't sure what bothered his father more, having to talk to Maurene - although after seeing the prejudice she had to deal with, Scorpius thought his father could try being more sympathetic to the poor child - or that Scorpius would rather talk to the counselor then him. He didn't see why though, Leebin had studied psychology and had proved better at helping him then his father ever had. Scorpius offered to give him a tour for the third time to allow them to be alone to talk, he stayed true to what he'd said last time as he showed him the basement while desperately trying to think of a way to talk about what he'd said to Varanian without giving it away that he'd talked to Varanian. He wanted to know if Leebin thought he'd given good advice and what else, if anything, he could do. He had no idea how to do that though.

"So not too long before your suspension is up," Leebin commented conversationally after being mostly quiet for the walk, probably tired waiting for Scorpius to start talking, "How do you feel about that?"

"Alright," Scorpius shrugged and resisted the urge to sigh as he sat on the basement steps, resigning himself to not being able to cleverly think of a way to talk about Varanian like someone smarter would. Considering Leebin already knew about Varanian's past, he didn't think simply changing his name would help either.

"Not worried about having missed four weeks of OWL classes?"

"Not really."

"Not worried about having missed four weeks of Quidditch practices?"

"Okay, a bit," Scorpius admitted although he hoped still doing vigorous activity would help keep him in shape at least, "It's Molly's final year and I want her to go out with a win."

"A sweet sentiment. She means a lot to you, doesn't she?"

"Yes, she does," Scorpius confirmed and thought of something he could ask him about, "I've liked her since the first time I saw her, she's been my friend since my very First Year and she's been my girlfriend for over two years. My parents think that it's not going to last, that she's going to dump me when she graduates because apparently that happens to all different age couples."

"And that bothers you," Leebin stated, pausing in his aimless pacing and Scorpius nodded.

"I'm serious about this, about her. I know teenagers don't have a great track record when it comes to relationships but I really am, I'm not interested in dating or other girls, I never have been and I don't think I ever would. I just like her, a lot. And they make it sound like it's nothing, that we don't mean anything to each other after everything we've been through," Scorpius told him and twirled his thumbs, "I'm not crazy, right? You don't think she'll dump me, do you?"

"Just like all people are different, all relationships are different too. What's true for one may not be true for another and what works for one may not work for another, it really depends" Leebin explained, "If she's on the same page as you and you're both committed to making it work long distance until you graduate then there's no reason to assume it'll fall apart, Harry and Ron's wives both did another year in Hogwarts and they stayed together. It can happen, Scorpius, don't feel like you're doomed. Have you tried talking to her about it?"

"No. Why?"

"Why not? She's in the relationship too, for all you know she could be just as afraid of you dumping her when she graduates or she could be planning on ending it after all and assumed you were in on it. Communication is always useful in relationships, you're not going to know how she feels unless you speak to her. You could be worrying for nothing."

"Fair point," Scorpius admitted with a sigh, "I guess I'm just afraid of what she'll say."

"Well for better or worse, at least you'll have an answer. It's good to have closure instead of worrying endlessly," Leebin pointed out and Scorpius nodded, agreeing he had a point although he was still afraid of his parents being right. He said nothing for a while so Leebin spoke again, "Any ideas for careers?"

"Not you too!" Scorpius groaned and buried his face in his hands, "I don't know what I want to do for a career!"

"Fair enough," Leebin shrugged it off.

"Fair enough?" Scorpius repeated as he looked up again, "Aren't you going to tell me that it's the most important thing in the world and I_ have_ to know for my NEWTs?"

"Not everyone knows what they're going to do at your age, that's why they have Career Advice at Hogwarts. It's not supposed to be forcing you to pick something or pressuring you to make a choice, it's to help you think about what you'd like and if you still don't know that's alright."

"They make it sound so final."

"It's not," Leebin shook his head, "As long as you get some NEWTs you should be okay, employers can be quite flexible. Look at Aurors, they let plenty of people join who'd fought in the Battle of Hogwarts regardless of their NEWTs or if they even did them at all. There's always adult learning courses to make up for missing NEWTs if you're really desperate and some employers will train you up on the job anyway as that matters more than academia. If someone knows what they want to do at fifteen, awesome for them but it's not the end of the world if you don't."

"Good to know," Scorpius said with relief and was suddenly curious as he knew Leebin had dropped out after OWLs, "How did your Career Advice session go?"

"I told Flitwick I wanted to be an Auror like my Dad, he laughed at me until he realized I'd been serious," Leebin told him with a sad smile and Scorpius felt bad with him, he thought it must be quite disheartening to have your goals laughed at, "Then be backtracked, said I could be anything I wanted to be... I just needed to improve my grades in... everything. He also tried to encourage me I didn't have to pick a career just because my Dad did it, there are plenty of fun more achievable careers out there. You know like working in a shop or cleaning or waiting tables if I got better at not dropping things. But then I was a lost cause and everyone knew it."

"I'm sorry."

"It's alright and don't worry, I'm sure it won't go that way for you," Leebin assured him, for once incorrectly guessing that was the reason for Scorpius' sad expression, "You're very bright and whatever eventual job you have, I have no doubt you'll do well."

"I think it's kind of pointless to think about the future anyway with the war," Scorpius pointed out truthfully, "Until that's over, that's my priority. It'll be a full time job."

"It's not your responsibility to stop the war, Scorpius. You're a teenager."

"Well so were Harry Potter and his friends."

"There's no Prophecy about how the Shadow Master will fall though, none concerning you or otherwise."

"Don't you want to do everything in your power to stop him?" Scorpius asked of him and Leebin looked slightly taken aback by a moment.

"Yes. I like to think helping Aurors stay sane and the things I do there is my way of helping," Leebin answered finally, "If you really want to help in the war, that's fine. I'm sure you'd make a great Auror or there are other productive things, healing people who get hurt or helping rebuild the damage or whatnot. There are real jobs that can help people once you finish Hogwarts. You just make it sound like you're going to march off to join Varanian's vigilantism group as soon as you leave this room. If you haven't already..."

"No, of course not," Scorpius lied and Leebin's unreadable expression didn't help him deduce whether he was believed or not, "If he showed up when Shadow things are going down like they have a habit of doing around me then I'd help him in a heartbeat but I'm not in regular contact with him, I wouldn't even know where to begin."

"Well good, Vigilantism isn't really a viable career since there's no pay and all," Leebin said neutrally before his expression went back to being kinder as usual, "I'm not going to tell you to forget the war and focus on a career, you're probably sick to death of hearing it and like I said it really doesn't matter if you don't know yet at this point. _But_ I do want you to think about the future, not necessarily about a career but just the future in general. Sometimes people who've gone through traumatic things like you have or even people with low self-esteem or things stop thinking that they have a future, it's one thing to not know what you want but quite another to think there's no future at all. No matter what will happen in the future, you have to live like you still have one."

"It's definitely not that, I know I have a future," Scorpius scoffed, he was quite sure he knew he had a future and it was just the war.

"Then tell me something,_ anything_ you hope for the future twenty years from now."

"That the war will be over."

"Something more personal."

"That Voldemort's son will be dead?"

"Something not to do with the war."

"That Michael will stay sober?"

"Something from _your_ future specifically, something you want from_ your_ life not everyone else that you worry about it," Leebin told him more clearly and Scorpius really struggled to think for a moment, a long moment. One thing came to mind and he blushed at it but it was all he could think of, he wasn't even sure it would count.

"That... That Molly and I would still be together," Scorpius admitted quietly, "And married."

* * *

_Sal still seemed mad at him even after their fight although they didn't speak of it again, taunting him with the rhyme about the Shadows. He didn't feel better about it after seeing their mother who sided with Sal about how it was alright to kill, despite the fact it was Rodolphus and Sal got a slap for teasing him with the song. Their mother didn't help them though, she'd take them away to be safe, she didn't tell the other Death Eaters to not hurt them. She just left them to rot. It seemed to make Sal forgive him though, maybe it made her realize that they were in this together and that Tommy was right. He didn't know, he barely cared. He felt so miserable, he didn't want to be alive when all life was pain. She seemed more brooding but was nonetheless still his rock, he didn't know how she could be so strong in the wake of what they went through. And it only got worse, Master Rodolphus hurt them even more as revenge and Tommy was too afraid to repressing his magic again. His magic was only getting more uncontrollable instead of less, it was almost like the harder he tried to do magic the more magic he did. But never what Master Rodolphus wanted._

_The Masters had started thinking him insane. Brutus and Rabastan were still good to them though, how he wished they'd just end his life and ease his pain. It would save Brutus having to keep healing him. He even said as much just before Aunt Narcissa compromised their location, Brutus told him if he wanted to make it up to him then he should keep his brother alive. He was so panicked One slipped away from him when he tried to get a Shadow to watch Brutus' brother, all he could think about was getting them out of there. And then suddenly they were, he had the uncomfortable sensation of icy air slicing across his vulnerable and they were on the grass. Aunt Narcissa went to get help and Sal turned on him again, angry he hadn't told her the Shadows could teleport. He hadn't known, he'd had no idea they could do that. She attacked him somewhat accidentally with magic and he somewhat accidentally defended himself, it didn't matter though because hurtling down the hill was the most enjoyable sensation he'd experienced for a while and the grass was long! It was so soft and tickly... He also had One check on Brutus' brother, laying eyes on Atticus for the first time. He was alright, alive and would heal without too much trouble. Master Rodolphus had burned them before._

_He was showing Brutus when Sal noticed the most amazing thing, it was alike a cloud with legs. It was so adorable and fluffy, Tommy wanted to cuddle it and Sal seemed in agreement. Brutus wasn't though, Brutus explained that wit was a sheep, an animal. He also made them realize how much fundamental knowledge they were missing as meat apparently was dead animals that Masters killed for meat, he was sickened and horrified they'd even hurt such a cute, harmless creature. He and Sal both vowed to never eat meat again and they never did, despite Master Rodolphus trying to starve them for a while until they'd do it or torture them into it. It was at least one moral they agreed on and a sign Sal was good still and she had accepted he hadn't known about the Shadows being able to teleport which she wanted to use, they had more free reign in their next basement thanks to Brutus and Rabastan. They were now allowed to read in their spare time to improve literacy as they'd reached a level where independent reading alone was both possible and helpful, they could also bathe whenever they wanted, were given a couch to sit on instead of the floor and new clothes that fit better. Not that the torture stopped and he was at the point now his practice wants tended to crack upon use, the slight excursion had given him some spark of hope though that Brutus and Rabastan fanned to try keep alive. There was some good in the world, even if it lived and died with that sheep._

_Despite his qualms about using the Shadows, he had tried to make it happen again but had failed. He wasn't quite sure how it was done and clearly there was more to it than willing to be in a different place, One suggested their needed to be a Shadow in the location they wanted to go to as well as One had been with the sheep. He dared not try it though and didn't mention it to Sal, afraid of giving One too a long a leash lest he try to wander away again. Oddly, Sal didn't seem in a hurry to do this. She was taking full advantage of the freedoms, in particular reading as if trying to absorb as much information on the world as possible. He thought it was alright but he also found it strange, the backfire memory committed every word of it to his mind. It was one thing to now be able to recall conversations word for word but stranger when it was thousands of words in books. He worried about Sal's health recently, she'd started having strange ideas about how their father could do better in his conquest of the world and seemed especially quiet. When she did want to speak, it was usually to ask odd questions about the Shadows yet didn't push him to try use them to escape._

_Exactly a year after first seeing the sheep, it was decided they would witness the torture and killing of a mudblood and her blood traitor husband. That would change everything. Tommy had a bad feeling, a feeling that only got worse as he tortured himself watching the couple with the Shadows beforehand. The apparently inhuman thing sung her baby a beautiful lullaby and the somehow traitor read the excited little ones a bedtime story, he'd guess that was how normal people treated their children. What he wouldn't give for his parents to treat him and Sal like that, he wanted his parents to hold him in their arms and tell him they loved him like that, to keep him safe. Or at least try. He hoped with every fiber of his being they would fail but they didn't, they outnumbered and overpowered the couple. And they destroyed them. Torturing the couple relentlessly and picking off the children one by one, he so desperately wanted it to stop, to be on their side. He tried to help them, willing his broken magic to do something with limited success that just had him being dragged away to be tortured as punishment. He couldn't bear to see them suffering, knowing all too well what too many of the things felt like. Brutus kept healing them as much as possible, he wasn't sure whether to be glad he eased their pain or upset he was just prolonging their agony. Rabastan and Sal did nothing._

_The strangest thing happened though, when the man overpowered the Imperius Curse he chased off the Dementors diminishing his magic. The man tried to help him, just like Tommy had tried to help the man. He was so touched at the kindness, so happy to know there was kindness in the world and it could even be applied to him. There was some good. There was. And then Sal did the unthinkable, she tried to kill the man and the wife sacrificed herself to save him. It was so painful and so loving, his heart twisted so sadly. They'd been a nice loving family and the Death Eaters had destroyed them, why was he on their side? Why was anyone? Why do that to them?! Because she'd been born in conditions the Death Eaters didn't like?! And he was insane?! They lit the guy on fire and just left him to burn in agony, magically making it so he could survive and suffer as long as possible. Was that really necessary after they'd already taken everything else from him? And Sal was the one to do it. Sal. He couldn't believe it, he couldn't believe his twin would hurt those people. It was one thing to hurt the Masters maybe but innocents? People who'd done absolutely nothing to her? Something inside him snapped. He turned against them and he vowed he'd never be a Master like them, he wasn't a master by the time the sun rose. His anger consumed him and he somehow severed the connection to the Shadows, chaining his sister to them instead and dooming her. Dooming the world. Not that he'd realized it at the time._

* * *

Scorpius would've been pleased that James had been found guilty if not for the fact the majority of the articles were focused on his disappearance. Most thought Harry Potter had helped him to escape to avoid imprisonment, some thought either Varanian or the Shadows had done it either so James could join him or to force Harry's hand and some thought it was just a cover, that James had killed himself rather than be jailed and Harry just was too grief stricken to admit it publicly. Personally, Scorpius thought Harry had no idea and he looked absolutely distraught as he made his public statement that he didn't know what had happened and that they were looking, he just wanted to find his son safe. Scorpius however found out the truth though on the day before the Easter holidays were set to end, he had another week of his suspension to go though.

"He joined them. The Shadows," Varanian told him quietly and despite his hatred for James, Scorpius' jaw dropped, "The grunts are jealous that some guy called Seneca is getting all the credit for landing the Potter boy, being rewarding when they consider it dumb luck one of his many kids was friends with James."

"Carver," Scorpius realized in horror as he recalled Maurice's paranoia from a while ago that he'd been a Shadow and Varanian looked at him curiously, "Carver is James' best friend, Maurice dueled him earlier in the year and said he thought Carver had been trained by the Shadows like him. We didn't take it seriously though and Maurice kind of dropped it, he is a Shadow."

"Well we can add him to the list and keep an eye on him, those trained like Maurice are... dangerous," Varanian offered, "So anyway, today I'm going to teach you about spells to protect against apparation and how to break them."

"I can't apparate."

"Not yet but you'll learn next year or this year even, maybe over the summer we'll get you both started on it early. But you might still need to know how to protect against apparation and how to break through the enchantments since the Shadow use them."

"Awesome!" Scorpius grinned enthusiastically.

"Isn't that the thing that makes you feel like vomiting?" Annie wondered with a scowl.

"You get used to it," Varanian insisted as his hair turned dark, "But anyway, there's basically two ways to protect against apparation: spells and wards. For spells you need to do two, the Anti-Disapparation Jinx that protects against disapparation so stops people leaving an area and the Anti-Apparation Charm that protects against apparation so stops against people entering an area. Got that?"

"Why can't they use shorter words?" Annie complained, taking a swig from her bottle of beer.

"I'll take that as a yes. So they are easier to cast, just two spells and the area is as large as you want but the larger the area the more the spells are spread thin. Because of this they're weaker and easier to break through, to combat this people often cast them several times in a larger area like casting it in each room of your house since homeowners often do that to prevent against unwanted intruders. You still just need to break one to be able to get in to that room and from there to access the house but since individual rooms are smaller than the house, the charms on the rooms aren't spread so thin so will be stronger and harder to break through then one for the whole house would've been.

This is different to wards. With apparation wards you need to go to at least three points, usually you do four but you do shapes with more sides or a triangle if you want to. Now with this you cast the spell - a different one to the jinx and charm obviously - on each of the four corners to create four wards or however many corners you want of the area you're trying to protect then a final one to activate it, now with this the size of the area doesn't matter but the number of wards. Four points on a room or a field will have exactly the same strength and it protects against both apparation and disapparation, it's trickier and takes longer to set up though as well as longer to take down. To break in to this, you need to break each ward enchantment and the final one overall you used to enact it. This is much harder and takes longer, hence why it's more secure an-"

Varanian was cut off as a golden eagle soared into the basement, taking Annie so much by surprise that she almost dropped her beer bottle. The bird immediately shifted into a man though, Aurelius Ashain in a Technicolor cloak despite being in his sixties and the professor's father, he looked more like a brother and had a still full head of thick extremely dark auburn hair that hung almost to his shoulders. He was clean shaven and had the same dark chestnut eyes as his sons and grandchildren as well, he was married to the much younger Dom who was Bill's younger daughter.

"What are you doing here?!" Varanian snapped at him irritably, "You're supposed to go through Dom to get a message to me to come to you not show up here directly."

"Ah Aurelius, don't you know not to interrupt him when he's mid-lecture?" Annie said with a shake of her head and Varanian's hair went curly, "He hates that."

"Quiet you."

"See? Now he's all grumpy."

"I'm always grumpy!" Varanian barked at her as his hair turned gray, Scorpius had no idea why that kept happened while she gave a lopsided smile.

"Dom's having dinner with her grandparents and I didn't think this could wait!" Aurelius spoke up, the bickering pair glanced to him with surprised expressions as if they'd forgotten he was there and Varanian's hair went back to its usual scruffy tawny. Varanian sighed and gestured for him to on.

"What is it then?"

"The muggle I'm following, he-he killed someone."

"Jack killed someone?" Annie wondered, all amusement obliterated from her face in an instant as it became stoic.

"Yes!"

"And you didn't stop him?" Scorpius complained.

"I tried!" Aurelius protested and looked so guilty that Scorpius regretted speaking, "He just went to this guy and held out his hand strangely, I figured it was a high five of some kind but then black light came from his palm at the man. By the time I'd reached them - golden eagles have incredible eyesight I don't need to be up close - the man just fell over dead, he crossed the name off his list then left by the same Specter travel."

"Well that's different," Varanian scowled in confusion like Scorpius while Annie looked stoically down at her beer, "I thought Specters could only kill those whose bodies they were using."

"So did I!"

"Alright," Varanian sighed and glanced at Annie who met his eyes as his hair faded to blond, "I think it's about time we erm... we..."

"Confront my brother," Annie finished for him and downed the rest of the bottle, looking grim, "I know."

* * *

**Part 3: **One, Two, Three

* * *

Roman waited until Annie and Varanian had left to go confront her brother before slipping out, Wyatt was still out and Scorpius was absent. It was he free to come and go as he pleased but they were also free to ask him where he was going, questions he'd rather not have to answer so he choose to go unnoticed as he had frequently over the past few months. He'd stayed in touch with Leila who was officially hiding out at that house, bringing her food and supplies. He'd also kept her company, reconnecting and learning more about their past, himself and his son. She made him seem like he was a better person then he'd thought, that's the Roman he wanted to be not the one who abandoned his children and helped the bad guys. He still didn't understand himself sometimes though, like when he'd read of Percy Weasley's death he'd cried for reasons he didn't know.

He kept the flask of Polyjuice tucked safely inside his robes, Varanian kept a pretty ready supply in case the non-metamorphmagi and non-animagi of the not-group needed it. He walked far away enough from the hideout to be clear of Varanian's enchantments before apparating to the house outside of the range of Leila's enchantments, stupid enchantments making him walk unnecessarily. Leila must've seen him coming from the window as he exited the quaint cottage and started heading towards him as well, her expression serious. This was it after all, the day the Hogwarts Express carried the students back to the school. Hopefully with two extra passengers. A stable place to stay had made her look healthier, her long beautiful hair was not filthy and frazzled anymore and her clothes in good condition. She planted a kiss on his lips she reached him.

"Did you get the potion?" Leila asked as she pulled away, her usually warm brown eyes filled with seriousness. After all, this was their chance. If they failed to sneak in then they'd likely not get to the chance again and if they couldn't convince Calderon to help then getting back into Greece to save Cyrus became that much harder.

"Did you get the hairs?" Roman countered with a question of his own, she'd been to get hairs from teenagers to transform into them while he got the potion after all. He started to draw the flash from his robes to show her, at the same time she retrieved two small vials with a thin hair visible in each to show him quickly before replacing them.

"Let's do this then," Leila said with heavy sigh, he knew she was itching to get going. Too much time had passed already. He nodded.

Roman unscrewed the lid from the flask, using it as a cup to pour that she duplicated with a wave of her quickly drawn wand without him needing to ask. He poured an equal amount of the unappealing liquid into the cup he held and the one she held before re-pocketing the flask, she then handed hers to him and took out the vials again. She uncorked each in turn, depositing a hair into each cup. He went to drink one but she snatched it away from him immediately.

"Yours is that one, I picked you a redhead since you grew up around Weasleys while I get to see what it's like having dark hair," Leila pointed out and he semi-scowled at this, "Plus you get to keep your penis."

"Fair enough," Roman agreed feeling his face flush while she gave an amused smile.

Leila raised her cup as if in a toast, he did the same and their expressions reverted to seriousness as they downed the potion. At the end of the day they'd either be one step closer to saving Cyrus and defeating the Shadow Master, or so many steps further away.

* * *

"Okay, so let's go over the plan," Varanian offered to Annie.

"Yes, let's. I love when you tell me the exact same thing five minutes after telling me again, I keep forgetting I'm a goldfish!" Annie quipped sarcastically.

They were standing in her brother's apartment the morning after the elder Ashain had told them about the murder, waiting for him to arrive. Annie had called him up to ask him to come home to talk to him so they were just waiting, he thought going over the plan again was useful especially as they were both so distracted and it would hopefully make them more focused. He swore it had been more than five minutes since he'd apparated them there. For once Annie didn't have a bottle in her hand and had instead taken to pacing idly, fidgeting and fiddling with random things around the room. He stood in the kitchen area of the open plan living and kitchen and dining entrance area, Jack shouldn't notice him when he came in unlike Annie.

With Varanian, his mind was the thing wandering. A few months ago she'd kissed him while drunk, he'd rejected her because being in a relationship with her was wrong. Simple. That should be the end of it. Yet, he still kept thinking it about it, thinking about her,_ feeling_ things for her. He didn't understand it and he didn't know what to do about it, she clearly didn't remember or care but dammit he did. It was a big deal to him. It made him feel oddly nervous around her, he'd even caught his hair randomly changing around her like it had when he'd first dated Ethel. And then Scorpius had to go look into his mind at memories he deprived himself of sleep to avoid and talk to him about it with a brutal bluntness, now he also had the boy's words echoing inside his head. On one hand, he could clearly see his point and recognized it made logical sense but on the other hand, he still felt as if he'd failed and he didn't know how to let go or forgive himself. He didn't think he deserved it.

His thoughts and feeling were annoyingly distracting and confusing. Of all the advanced magic and things he knew, nothing was as difficult to understand as his own emotions. He didn't know how to deal with it all and he wasn't having any luck repressing it like he usually did, he thought there was just too much to shove away. And now was the worst possible time for his head to be out of the game, there was more important things going on than his own stupid issues yet those were the things at the forefront of his mind. And there he'd gone being distracted again when he should be focusing, he was so frustrated with himself.

"It's good to make sure we all know what we're doing," Varanian insisted to which Annie rolled her beautifully blue eyes, "When he arrives, you distract him by talking to him and I'll hit him with the Patronus Charm. That'll chase away the Specter and save him."

"We're not even going to give him a chance to explain first?" Annie complained for the second time.

"He can explain once the Specter is gone, if we try to talk to him first then it could hurt him or kill him or attack us. Remember, we don't know what this One is capable of."

"Glad we made that clear," Annie said with more sarcasm.

Varanian opened his mouth to reply but it closed as the door opened and Annie's brother walked in. Jack Thorne didn't have too much resemblance to his sister, his hair was dark while hers was more reddish, his was more unruly while hers was always kept tied back and clipped up as to not touch her neck although she allowed a piece to hang down over her forehead. He was tall and muscular while Annie was shorter and slimmer, although that was more to do with the gender difference, clearly he didn't have her feminine frame. Ironically they were also dressed similarly, both wore muggle jeans, trainers and a jacket over their shirt. Their faces were more similar, especially around the eyes. They had the same eyes... almost. Jack's looked almost as if they were in shadow except the rest of his face wasn't...

"Long time, no see," Jack greeted his sister enthusiastically, approaching her while Varanian remained unnoticed in the kitchen area, "You'll have to hurry if you want to see Michael before he leaves though, the break ends today. He seems kind of down lately, maybe seeing you would cheer him up."

"_Expecto Patronum_," Varanian cast as quietly as he could to not alert Jack.

Jack's head twitched but if he heard or not, he was too slow. The gleaming chameleon - how he despised his Patronus animal - had already burst from his wand and lashed out to Jack, Varanian expected the Specter to shoot out immediately like it had for Roman but it didn't. Jack was screaming and convulsing before, ultimately falling onto the ground where he continued thrashing wildly. Even stranger than that, his body was awash with silver light but he could see shadows over or possibly beneath his skin also twisting as if agony. He approached him in numb amazement, trying to hold on to the feelings required to fuel the Patronus and keep it digging into him. Jack screamed louder.

"Stop it!" Annie screeched at him, looking panicked as she raced to his side and grabbed his wand arm to yank it away from her brother, "Stop it, Pip! Stop! You're hurting him! You're_ killing_ him!"

"It's just latched in more or something! Give it a minute!" Varanian protested thinking that had to be it but it was too late.

Being distracted had killed his focus, the Patronus vanished. The light faded as did the strange shadows, Jack slumped back panting and no longer screaming. His eyes flashed darkly, recovering faster than Varanian would've thought and doing something he was completely unprepared for. He vanished. Darkness enveloped him and he vanished out of thin air without a sound.

"_Varanian, we meet at last,_" Jack's gruff voice commented conversationally in an odd tone, he and Annie both turned to the source of the voice in surprise to see he was now standing on the other side of the room, "_Not that I ever really care about meeting you_."

"And this is where you're been, Annie?" Jack said in his usual tone of voice with an angry look at his sister, "Plotting ways to torture your own flesh and blood with a wanted fugitive?"

"We're trying to help you!" Annie protested and her brother gave a twisted laugh that sounded inhuman somehow, Varanian exchanged a worried glance with she returned to sarcasm, "So I forget, Pip, what were we supposed to do _after_ the Patronus chases the Specter away and saves him?"

"_Save me from the Specter? There is no Specter anymore_," Jack sneered in the other voice, "_And no human to save."_

"You killed Jack?" Varanian wondered as Annie's face drained of color, fearing it had somehow killed her brother but was still controlling his body.

"I am Jack!" Jack protested in his usual voice and he noticed the color return to Annie, "And I am One."

"Did you just go insane?" Annie guessed and Varanian was inclined to agree.

He didn't wait for the conversation to continue though, not when Jack could leave at any second. They needed to free him of the Specter, hopefully that would restore his sanity and get some answers over what the Specter was doing. New plan: stun him and Patronus him while he was unconscious, maybe then it would be easier to get the Specter out of him. He flicked his wand and the stunner shot towards Jack, the muggle surprised him again however as he whipped out his wand and conjured a Shield Charm that deflected his spell back into a lamp. He smirked as their jaws dropped.

"You're a wizard?" Varanian wondered in surprise, quite shocked that two magical people let alone from the same family had somehow managed to avoid being recognized by the Ministry.

"How did you become magical?" Annie asked at the same time, apparently her logic taking a different route, "I grew up with you, I know you weren't magical."

"You don't have to be born with magic to become a wizard," Jack scoffed as he lowered his wand.

"Yes, you kind of do," Varanian insisted but still didn't lower his wand, "Especially as we know now that magic is from the soul."

"We know magic is from the soul! We took it from wizards less deserving."

"_We can see it_," Jack's second voice added and eyed him strangely, "_We can see souls and see when magic is part of it."_

"You're a gray soul, Annie," Jack told his sister in his normal voice, "It's like an aura coming from you and your magic is like a light where your heart is, you're magical. Then you..."

"_You're different, Varanian_," Jack reverted back to his second voice, "_You have a gray aura but your whole body is alight, your whole body is magical. Metamorphmagi are inherently more magical so they can change at will... Do you think we can steal that?_"

"I don't know."

Varanian realized he was about to be attacked and threw himself out of the way immediately, Annie had also caught on apparently and slammed up a shield. It didn't matter though, Jack hadn't raised his wand but his hand. Aurelius had been wrong, it wasn't as if the black light came from his hand at him as if he was being struck by something but rather he felt as if his heart had been grabbed by an invisible hand and a beam of black light shot between them.

"Jack, no! Stop!" Annie cried.

He'd been in pain before. He'd been burned alive - twice - and tortured, with the Cruciatus Curse and other ways. This was worse than all of them. It was actually most similar to the pain he'd experienced when he tried to fight his possession, only a million times worse. He felt as if he was being torn apart, as if his body was suddenly ripping itself apart a basic level, shredding itself. Except it wasn't his body or even his mind under, the pain was on a level he couldn't describe. He couldn't think, he couldn't feel, he wasn't aware of anything. His own agony was the only thing he was capable of experiencing.

_"Expecto Patronum!"_

The echoey, distant nonsensical words somehow snapped him out of his pain, he could hear screaming but it wasn't his own. He still felt achy but it was a much more bearable pain. He became aware he was lying on his back on the ground, he didn't remember falling though. His suddenly groggy mind struggled to get his bearings, in a messy swirl things spun back into his still spinning head. He could see Jack on the floor now, glowing silver while the shadows writhed beneath his skin. Annie was standing with her wand raised at her brother, the light from Jack vanished abruptly and she kept her wand on her brother with practiced steadiness as she strategically positioned herself in-between him and Jack. It caught up to him what must've happened, she'd cast a Patronus at him to stop him. She'd actually done it.

"You'd side with him over your own brother?" Jack wondered of her, panting and looked shocked.

"When you're trying to destroy him? Anytime," Annie said coolly and Jack jumped to his feet with a ferocious expression on his face, "Just let us help you, Jack, I don't know what's wrong with you but I know it's wrong."

"_It's not wrong, we're better than the mere mortals who reside in this word,_" Jack sneered in his other voice.

"You want to help? Get of the way!" Jack snapped at her in his regular voice, "He attacked us and now he's becoming our next victim."

"No," Annie told him quite firmly and Varanian tried to move to be able to do something, his body twitched and ignored him though. He felt something akin to pins and needles throughout his body, he could only hope that meant his body might start listening to him again.

"Move aside!"

"Or what?! You'll destroy my soul too?!" Annie shot out at him, for the first time in the conversation Jack looked deeply concerned, "Your own sister?"

"No," Jack said finally with a shake of his head before raising his wand, "But if you don't move aside then we'll make you."

"Good luck with that."

Jack threw a stunner at her almost the second she'd finished speaking, Annie slammed up a shield and it deflected back at him but her brother jumped out of the way. Varanian tried to move again, this time his limbs did move clunkily as if a deadweight he was trying to pull. Jack was moving around the room, firing more stunners with an impressive speed that Annie deflected with practiced ease but she hadn't fired any spells though of attack though as if afraid of harming her brother. He tried to point this out and his words came out as an incoherent garble, he could only hope that wasn't permanent.

Jack gave a grunt of frustration at lashed out with a new tactic, the Acutus Curse. Annie fired her own in defense immediately, causing sparks to fly as the invisible spells clashed in mid-air. Jack seemed surprised at this and tried again, and again, throwing them out at increasingly awkward angles but Annie blocked every one in turn as if she'd been doing it all her life. No matter her attitude, he was glad to see that some of the things he said got through. He was actually quite proud of her. He tried to move again, trying to sit up and just about managed to drag his limbs up before falling against the island counter he was beside from the kitchen area. It was a start. Jack finally threw an _Acuta_ so far wide that Annie could dodge it without wasting the effort of defending, instead she finally launched her own spell of attack but Jack avoided the stunner by ducking and his wand was already in motion.

"_Accio wall_!" Jack cried angrily.

Varanian heard the deep tearing as the wall behind them was apparently ripped away and smashing as anything not connected to the wall were destroyed, he tried to reach his own wand and his arm moved but his fingers fumbled the finger task. He attempted a cry of frustration but it came out as a strangled grunt, he couldn't even apparate because he wasn't touching Annie. Annie had spun though and ducked herself, a look of intense focus crossed her face as she jabbed her wand at the island counter between them and the fast approaching wall, muttering an incantation. The counter shifted from flimsy wood to harden steep in an instant, there was a loud ting as the wall collided into it but it successfully blocked them from the wall. The wall continued speeding over to Jack around the counter, in two broken pieces in the center where the counter had broken it off.

"You're right, Pip, Transfiguration can be useful sometimes," Annie told him breathlessly with a tone of surprise, both siblings were breathing heavily from the magical exertion they weren't used to. He tried to reply but his words remained garbled, "Yet again, you'd have completely flunked forming coherent sentences."

Jack swiveled his wand and the wall twisting as it shot back towards them, apparently his eyes bulging in shock was enough of a warming for Annie. She aimed her wand at the counter, standing at spinning at the same time. The counter flew over their heads and Varanian almost lost his balance as his support was removed, enough control had returned for him to use a hand to steady himself and stay sitting upright though. The counter became vertical to defend the standing woman as it landed before her, Annie looked rooted to the ground and kept her wand to hold the counter firmly in place. The wall smashed against it but it held, ultimately moving around their metallic counter and shooting on through to crash into whatever the next thing was.

Annie flicked her wand again, the counter flipped itself to be horizontal once more and she threw it at her brother. It hit the unsuspecting Jack and was knocked violently backwards, tumbling backwards over the couch. He didn't get up and Annie lowered her wand, still panting. Varanian finally managed to convince his hand to clutch his wand and tried to stand, Annie looked back to him and helped him up. He stood, it was on shaky legs but he stood. Concern shone through on her face.

"Are you alright, Pip?" Annie asked of him quietly.

"Ithink I willbe," Varanian answered truthfully, his words coming out oddly paced but her nod indicated she understood. He did still ache though.

"I'll heal Jack and we can try the Patronus again when you feel up to it, keep him unconscious until then."

"_I don't think so_," Jack's other voice sneered and they both looked back in surprise, seeing he had gotten to his feet again, "_I told you we're not like mere mortals_."

"Two minds is better than one," Jack said in his usual voice, still breathless, "At least for making sure you can't knock us out and attack us."

"We're trying to help you, Jack!" Annie insisted yet again.

"One's part of my soul now, you can't banish it without banishing me. I told you, you can't help," Jack stated with a note of finality, his expression solemn as the shadows consumed again and he vanished on the spot. This time, he didn't reappear.

"His soul," Annie repeated in a painful whisper.

"He could belying," Varanian tried to point out encouragingly, she turned back to him with her low spirits obvious on her face.

"And if he isn't? If the Specter is part of his soul?"

"Well we... we mightstill be able to save him."

"How?!" Annie demanded of him suddenly angrily, her body shaking, "Souls aren't something to mess with, you said that! One of the Fundamental Laws of Magic is to not mess with essential self without severe consequences, which includes not messing with your soul!"

"Essence of self," Varanian corrected her instinctively.

"Whatever it is!"

"That doesn't mean this isn't reversible, it doesn't mean wecan't figure out a way to restore his soul. We can find a way."

"I don't want to find a way, I want my brother to be okay!" Annie yelled at him, her voice cracking and pain crossed her face again as she looked down at the wand in her hand before abruptly shoving it into his, "I'm done."

"What?" Varanian wondered in confusion.

"I said I'm done!" Annie spat at him, stepping away, "I'm done with magic and I'm done with you!"

"You don't mean that-"

"Yes I do! What has magic ever done except make my life miserable?! Make Michael's life miserable?! And now my nephew's a werewolf and my brother is some kind of shadow monster! I'm out! I'm done!"

"Just calm down, you're not thinking straight," Varanian insisted and her face twisted darkly.

"I'm thinking perfectly straight, I'm sober!" Annie yelled at him accusingly as if being sober was a horrible thing he'd inflicted upon her, she then walked straight by him.

"Well you're upset, Annie!" Varanian called after her in panic and tried to grab her arm, she halted momentarily.

"Leave me alone, Pip."

"Where are you even going? You have nowhere to go! Just come home and calm down, we can figure this out."

"There's nothing to figure out, we're fucked!" Annie announced, yanking her arm away and stalking off, "I'm getting a drink!"

"Annie! Annie, wait!"

Varanian tried to follow but his legs made jerky movements that were hard to coordinate, he staggered after her and stopped slightly to take in the damage. The wall was indeed gone as was the door, he could see the corridor clearly before him and the apartment on the other side where the wall had collided with it, crashing through into the opposite apartment. Dust was sprinkled the distance between them and debris broken by the wall, the refrigerator overturned and things from the counter or had fallen from the cupboards littering the floor. He tried to avoid stepping on things lest it impede his already struggling movements, he wished it would wear of faster. He did reach the hall, catching a glimpse of Annie's brown jacket vanishing down the stairwell.

"Annie!" he cried again and tried to follow, only to be stopped by an elderly man holding two grocery bags who looked absolutely horrified.

"Wh-What happened to my home?" the man asked of him desperately, ogling the ruined apartment across from Jack's.

"I don't know," Varanian lied to the muggle and tried to move only to be forced to bite his tongue as the man dropped his bags onto Varanian's feet, he cringed in pain as something that felt like heavy cans thudded onto his feet.

"What am I going to do?" the man questioned, starting to sob, "My home!"

"I don't know, I don't even life here," Varanian snapped irritably as he moved the bags off his feet, he felt bad for the man but he had to go after Annie now.

"My home!" the man wailed and grabbed onto Varanian's coat, crying uncontrollably, "I c-can't afford to fix that! The Landlord could even evict me f-for it, where will I go?!"

"I don't know!" Varanian screamed at him, tearing himself away to go after Annie.

The man finally gave up, burying his face into his heads instead to cry at his misfortune. Varanian started to leave after Annie but hesitated, knowing full well what it was like to have your home destroyed... He rolled his eyes at himself and waved his wand at the ruined apartment, the damage repaired itself and the chunks of wall or rubble from Jack's deposited themselves in a neat pile outside the elderly man's home. The elderly man, who was still crying obliviously and would be in for a pleasant surprise when he did decide to open his eyes. Satisfied and not wanting to waste the time and effort on Jack's place, Varanian was finally free to stalk after Annie. It was no use though, she was long gone.

* * *

**Part 4: **Holding Out

* * *

Jack teleported back to Crystal's house, his heart twisting between hurt and anger. The peaceful life he'd managed to piece together was over now, his delicate balance of killing criminals to sate his need for pain then being a good boyfriend and father or step-father in the case of the little ones. It had been perfect, something he'd striven to achieve for years - minus the killing for pain part - but now it was ruined. He couldn't keep up his facade now, not when Annie and Varanian could come after him again or simply tell Crystal and Michael what he'd done. It was over, they'd have to leave. He owed them a goodbye though, the truth from his own mouth and not a garbled version from Annie. Their surprise was evidence that their information was incomplete after all, they'd probably make it sound much worse than it was.

"Oh hi, Jack, I didn't hear you come in," Crystal offered in surprise as she walked into the kitchen with her pure white aura, carrying dishes from breakfast over to the sink. She dumped them in the sink before giving him a faint smile and a kiss in greeting, he returned the kiss but not the smile and let her hand caress his cheek, "You really should see a doctor, your skin isn't supposed to be that cold. I worry about it."

"I know, I have news about that," Jack admitted quietly and took her hand in his own, so soft and warm, he caressed it as he moved it away from his face.

"You finally saw a doctor?"

"No but I know why it's like that."

"Why?"

"Where's Michael? He should be here to hear this too," Jack commented and took a deep breath, Crystal started looking worried now.

"That bad?" she repeated anxiously.

"Ugh," Michael's voice grunted and they both glanced towards the door where he seemed to have been dragging his trunk down, upon seeing them he left it and made to leave.

"Michael, wait, your father has something to say."

"I know you two are dating, just don't do it in front of me," Michael told them, holding up his hands as if innocent as he continued turning to leave. It was still strange to hear his little boy speaking with a deeper voice.

"Michael, stay!" Jack barked at him and Michael froze, spinning back to face them, "This is important."

It was also still strange to see Michael grown, he didn't have to look down on him anymore as they were on eye level. One the same beautiful hazel as his mother and one golden, the prosthetic reflecting his werewolf blood with the very visible scar running from his forehead through his eyebrow, across the eye and down his cheek. His wild mane of hair remained, a light auburn flecked with red, blond, light brown and now gray despite being only fifteen, not even Crystal's hair was graying yet. His soul was gray too. His features were no longer soft and reminiscent of his mother, people would no longer say he was a beautiful child. His face was harsher, not older, just harder. The innocence had long since died in his eyes, killed by the things he'd seen. He wasn't small and weak anymore, he lacked Jack's muscular build but he was more toned and the same as his father if not a smidgen taller. His hands were both scarred, a faint line on his right and the left covered his own hand, lumpy and pitted, the skin randomly twisted by flames. A far cry from the untouched infant he'd been when Jack had first laid eyes on him, not even the smiling toddler. He didn't remember the last time he'd seen his son smile.

"What did you do?" Michael asked of him quietly and Jack averted his eyes.

"Jack?" Crystal prompted, still sounding concerned in contrast to Michael who sounded like he'd given up on him.

_Are you going to tell them or should I?_ One added inside his mind.

"You have to understand, I did it protect you," Jack offered, realizing it sounded pathetic but it was the truth, "It was for the best."

"What did you do?!" Michael demanded again, his tone commanding and Jack looked back up to glance between his only child and the woman he loved.

"Something bad," Jack muttered ashamedly, tears pricking his eyes as he realized he was losing them. This time forever.

"What did you do!" Michael snapped forcefully.

"I gave up my soul," Jack admitted finally and Crystal gasped fearfully, Michael closed his eyes showing his scarred eyelid, "I merged it with a Specter so I could gain magical powers, that's why I always feel cold to the touch, I can teleport, see souls and Patronuses hurt me. I can also kill people, destroy their souls and feed off their pain. I can take the magic from their souls too, merge it with my soul. That's why I can do magic."

"_Don't you think you're forgetting something important?_" One complained with his voice at the lack of recognition, Michael opened his eyes again and tears rolled from them while Crystal's bulged in shock.

"The Specter's name is One and we share a body now."

"You didn't kill anyone with that power though, did you?" Crystal questioned, somewhere between hopeful and worried.

"I have to! Specters feed off pain to survive, now we have to as well," Jack protested defensively, tears also started streaming from Crystal's eyes now, "I only kill people who deserve it though! I swear! One wants to kill anyone but I keep him in check!"

"Who 'deserved' it?"

"Bob for what he did to you two, his mother so you could get the children back, that ex-boyfriend who nearly killed you and took your grandmother's necklace, the drunk driver who killed my mother, those werewolf killing bastards from PAW, other criminals!"

"How many?" Crystal asked, looking even more horrified, "How may have you killed?"

"I..." Jack started to say but trailed off as he realized he'd lost count, "I erm... I'm not sure."

"Why are you even telling us this?"

"Because I wanted you to hear it from me not from Annie! To make you see it's not so bad, that I'm still me!" Jack protested determinedly and heard One laugh inside his mind, "I have to go into hiding because Varanian's after me, I wasn't just leave without having a chance to explain myself to you because the ship has sailed with Annie."

"Just go," Michael croaked tearfully and Jack glanced back to see the second family member raise their wand at him, the scorched blackened stick held unwaveringly despite the tears pouring down his face, "Before I have to hurt you too."

"Michael!" Crystal cried out in his defense.

"You'd attack your own father?" Jack wondered in genuine shock, holding out his hands innocently, "I'm not even doing anything to you!"

"You're not my Dad anymore and you're fooling yourself if you think otherwise," Michael said through his tears, "You lost yourself the moment you sacrificed your soul to that thing. And if you don't leave right now then I'll Patronus you, I'm something of a Patronus prodigy with them. How much damage do you think three would do?"

"Michael-" Jack began and Michael sobbed harder at the sound of his name, his real name just like he wanted. He glanced between his son and Crystal, whose face was also wet with tears as she watched the exchange in horror.

_You're really just prolonging their own pain_, One offered and Jack was inclined to agree, he felt the tears leave his own eyes.

"I love you both. Remember that," Jack whispered before teleporting away.

* * *

After the Polyjuice kicked in, Leila shrunk their robes to fit their temporary bodies and Roman altered them to look like Hogwarts robes. He made hers Ravenclaw, the house he'd wanted to be in and made his Slytherin as it was the house he'd been in. They then apparated to Kings Cross station, Leila half-following him as Roman struggled to remember the way. They meandered through the throng of muggles and long metallic things he believed were called trains, memories of dread creeping back into his mind as he forced to go back year after year. It helped his feet find the platform though, as if to confirm it they saw a small girl who looked like a First Year running through the barrier with her parents. They sidled on through as well.

"Alright, now we need to get onto the train," Roman offered to her once they were on the other side, amongst a new crowd of parents hugging their children goodbye, "And keep an eye out for my son, Orous. I don't know what Calderon looks like or where he'd be. Unless I do and I don't remember it but anyway, he's trustworthy and we can't count on that."

"You realize I've never met Orous right?" Leila pointed out and he glanced at her, now a dark skinned girl with even darker hair but light green eyes. He had to get used to being the same height as her because he was so accustomed to being taller.

"You know he's an albino though, right?"

"Yeah."

"Do you think it's common to see a teenager with white hair and red eyes in Britain?"

"Fair point," Leila agreed with a sheepish smile.

He took her hand, leading her into the train and they went completely unnoticed amongst the volume of children also clamoring to get on board. He breathed a sigh of relief, it was almost too easy. It was certainly jogging his memory, he really didn't think he'd liked Hogwarts very much. They checked apartments as they went, trying to find Orous. After going through all the compartments and not finding him, they were forced to conclude he wasn't on board the train yet and so waited. He kept an eye out the window while Leila kept an eye on the corridor, he also caught sight of the gangly freckle-faced boy he was being and wished the kid would get a haircut. He tried to focus on the crowd but found his mind wandering again, trying to remember the faces of the people he had been leaving behind on the platform when he was a child...

"There!" Leila barked abruptly, jolting him from his thoughts and he turned back to see his son walking by with Annie's alcoholic nephew who had his had hung low.

"Orous!" Roman cried in a frustratingly squeaky voice, flailing his arms as he jumped up to open the door in haste to not miss them. The boys froze in surprise and his son's face twisted into an expression of confusion, Annie's nephew didn't seem to care.

"Erm... Hi," Orous offered uncertainly, "Do I know you? I think you may have gotten me confusion with someone else.

"No I don't, it's _me_," Roman pointed out and realized the stupidity of the statement while he was polyjuiced, even as he heard Leila slap a hand to her face, "Your biological father. Roman. Roman Rivers."

"Really?" Orous repeated dubiously, both boys' hands going for their wands while Roman held up his hands as if to attest to his innocent.

"Yes! I went to your house at Christmas, you live the muggle Cade and I got him an apple for his gift! Leila, give me your ankh," Roman protested and Leila handed him over her healing ankh obediently, he showed it to Orous, "And I used this to save Cade."

"Okay, I believe you," Orous admitted and they dropped their hands, "What are you doing here though?"

"Hey! Stop blocking the corridor," a burly boy complained as several people came up behind them, wanting to get by.

"Come in," Roman urged, moving further back into the compartment to allow the other two boys to come in. Orous closed the door behind them before they sat down, Roman ending up by the window again with Orous opposite while Leila remained between Orous and the door with the nephew opposite her. Roman went to hand her back the ankh, "Here."

"It's alright, you hang on to it," Leila offered with a dismissive wave, "I know how much you liked it."

"So why are you here? And who are you?" Orous questioned, directing the last to Leila who opened her mouth to answer before glancing at the nephew unsurely, "He's my friend, Michael, he's good."

"Not from what I hear," Roman scoffed and Michael looked even more hurt, "He's an alcoholic and he got Scorpius suspended."

"I-I know, Roman."

"I'm sober right now and I'm not leaving my friend alone with two potentially random people so deal with it," Michael shot out irritably, "I am not in the mood for this right now."

"I'm Leila Akram," Leila introduced herself, apparently deciding that was trustworthy enough and offered her hand for Orous to shake, which he did, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Orous."

"You're the woman who was trying to talk to Scorpius, the one who escaped Athens."

"Yes, I am."

"Scorpius isn't here."

"We know, maybe you'd realize that if you hadn't destroyed all your brain cells," Roman pointed out truthfully, Michael would probably find out anyway and he trusted his son, "We're here to speak to Calderon."

"Why?" Orous wondered in confusion.

"Because I've studied the Scepter and I have a theory, if I'm right Calderon may be able to take away the Scepter and destroy the Shadow Master," Leila explained, apparently still going for honesty, "Cut off the head and the snake will die, then I have a chance of getting back into Athens and saving my son."

"Okay but then why did Varanian send you?" Michael added to Roman, "Why not himself?"

"Well he's busy with going after your father right now for starters," Roman pointed out and the boy cringed.

"What's up with his father?" Leila wondered in bemusement.

"Oh, he's a murderer who made a deal with a Specter or something," Roman brushed it off dismissively and Orous' eyes widened in shock, Leila seemed less impressed but still surprised. Michael looked deeply upset.

"Is that true?" Orous asked of Michael.

"I don't want to talk about it," Michael mumbled before speaking up, "What I meant is why not just wait for another week for Scorpius' suspension to be up or send a message to one of us?"

"Well Varanian didn't send us," Roman pointed out and the two boys looked shocked, Leila exchanged a look with him.

"I think maybe we should all start from the start," Leila decided and flicked her wand at the compartment to prevent against eavesdroppers.

* * *

Varanian stood outside the small, quaint muggle pub, the name of it was in gleaming golden letters on the granite that looked new. It was in contrast with the old battered sign hanging out, the colors were so faded that it wasn't even discernible what the image was supposed to be. There were a few tables outside but they were unoccupied, Varanian paid it no mind and hesitated a moment as he debated whether or not to change his appearance as he was aware it was risky to be himself in public. On the other hand he wanted to make sure Annie recognized him, usually she had an uncanny ability to recognize him through his disguises but might not be able to under the influence of alcohol. He headed in as himself, his body or possibly his soul still aching from Jack's attack but at least he was in control of himself again.

It was dark and dingy inside despite the bright sunshine outside, the wind was cold but the sun bright. The windows were small though and buried in deep alcoves, an excessive assortment of different tables were scattered around the place making it look cramped. The bar was on the far wall, a tall man with a shaved head was serving there and even from behind he recognized Annie amongst the handful of other men at the bar. There were only three other people there, an overweight man at one of the tables watching a muted muggle sport on the flat television set Varanian noticed hung in the corner to the left of the door as he got further in, another man who looked asleep with his head in his hands at the bar on the furthest right end and a final old man a few seats down from Annie with his mangled gray beard in his beer. Annie was strategically in in the center of the bar, right in front of the barkeeper. He approached in relief to have found her and sat down onto the stool next to her.

"Hey," Varanian offered awkwardly in greeting, up close he saw a shot glass in her hand and a half empty bottle of muggle whiskey beside it.

"Fuck off," Annie growled immediately and downed the glass, the barkeeper started refilling it from the bottle as soon as it left her hand. She did glance at him though with unfocused eyes and he picked up the slight slur in her voice with the next words, "How'd you find me anyway?"

"Magic," Varanian pointed out and she rolled her eyes, dragging the glass across the wood but he reached out to stop her, "Come on, you've had enough. You need to come home."

"I told you, I'm done. Go away," Annie complained but he didn't move his hand and she lacked the strength to move it, instead sighing and turning to the barkeeper, "Can you help me out here, buddy? I'm a paying customer and this lunatic is bothering me, he's not even ordering anything."

"Either order something or get out," the barkeeper complained in an accented tone.

"I'll have this," Varanian decided and lifted Annie's glass away from her, the barkeeper didn't object and instead just went about getting Annie a new glass which earned them both a dark look from her, "Look, Annie, you can't be done. Where will you even go otherwise? You can't stay with Jack and you have no one else."

"Don't know, don't care, none of your business, go away," Annie brushed it off as the barkeeper slid over a new glass that she snatched up before Varanian could try to grab, "I win."

"Well I care!" Varanian protested irritably, "It's not safe for you to have nowhere to go and drinking on top of that, you have beer at home. If you really must then drink there where you're protected, what if you get attacked? You don't even have anything to defend yourself anymore."

"Then I guess I'll be dead and you'll have to stop nagging me, win-win," Annie pointed out as she drank from her glass before glancing at the barkeeper again, "Dude seriously, can you kick him out? He doesn't even have any money to pay you for that drink."

"I do!" Varanian lied as the barkeeper glanced at him but seemed to believe him as he looked away disinterestedly again, "Would you stop trying to get rid of me and just talk to me? You're being irrational."

"I think your paranoid boyfriend is just worried about you," the barkeeper stated monotonously and Varanian tried very hard not to blush at being mistaken for her boyfriend.

"He's not my boyfriend," Annie complained darkly as she downed the rest of the glass, shoving it at him for more but the barkeeper's eyes had bulged in shock as he stared at Varanian, "And you just lost your tip."

"Your hair! Your hair just changed color!"

"What? Don't be silly, hair can't change color," Varanian scoffed feeling panicked that it had done that in public, he noticed the man he'd thought was sleeping looked up at him from across the bar.

"I swear it wasn't brown a minute ago!"

"Maybe you've been sampling too much of your own stuff!" the old man barked gruffly and slammed his glass onto the bar, "And c'mon and fill me up! Same again."

The barkeeper continued looking shaken but nonetheless went over to see to the man, Varanian was more concerned with the other man watching him from across the bar. He got up a second later and stalked into a door to the left marked 'toilet' in small golden letters, still Varanian was reminded that it was a bad idea to be out in public. They needed to leave.

"Annie, please. We can talk about this later," Varanian urged her as she went to refill her own glass with the bottle.

"I told you I'm leaving," Annie insisted yet again as she put the bottle back down.

"Well you can't just leave."

"Yes, I can," Annie stated confidently with a nod and went to drink some of her glass, "It's not like it's an official group or anything, not obligated to stay. Don't you have a world to save anyway?"

"Right now I'm more worried about saving you," Varanian pointed out quite truthfully and she glanced at him, pausing midway through raising her glass, "You have to face your problems not run from then, you can't crawl into a bottle just because your brother did something stupid."

"Do you know what's the first thing they said to me during my paramedic training?" Annie asked randomly, starting to swirl her glass in her hand.

"No. Why would I know that?"

"They tell you'll often meet people on the worst days of their lives, that they could've been in a horrible accident or the victim of a horrible attack or suffering a horrible illness, it's not always small problems. And you'll be responsible as you're the first to reach them, you'll have their lives in_ your_ hands, _your_ decisions can be the difference between life and death. You have to react fast, make difficult decisions in a heartbeat. Don't doubt yourself, do it. Whatever you do, they _might_ die but if you do nothing then they_ will_ die. You have to be able to make that call and just do it. And you have to be able to live with it because people are going to die on you, even if you do everything right you will still lose people. Not you might, you _will._ And you have to be able to live with that, to not let it eat you alive. If you don't think you can handle that then get out, best of luck in life but this is not for you if you can't deal with this stress and training you is a waste of both our times."

"What's your point?" Varanian wondered in confusion.

"My point is that I was a damn good paramedic. I'm a fast thinker, I know my shit and I can keep a cool head in stress, I could even live with the losses," Annie pointed out, "The same principle applies here with the Shadows. You're good but you're also indecisive and self-doubting, you won't even make the group official because you're afraid of being responsible for people's lives. If you really want to stop this war you need to get over it. So go do that and leave me alone."

"No! You're just turning this on me to avoid talking about your own problems."

"Doesn't mean I'm not right," Annie insisted and finally made to drink her shot but he took it off her, she gave a cry of frustration, "Why do you hate me?!"

"Why do you hate yourself?!" Varanian countered which seemed to strike a nerve, Annie immediately shut up and looked away, "You may not care about yourself but I do and I'm not leaving you to rot in this bar, I'm not leaving here without you. I don't care if you're angry with me or you hate me, I don't even care if you want to learn magic or fight the Shadows anymore but I'm not abandoning you, Annie. You may not care about your safety but I do and you're a sitting duck drunk in a bar with no wand or home."

"I can take care of myself, just like I always have," Annie said seriously and more quietly but she did look back to him, "It's not your concern."

"I'm concerned so that makes it my concern."

"You shouldn't even be out here, you're at risk."

"Well then I'll just have to be at risk," Varanian decided and folded his arms stubbornly, Annie continued to eye him as if he'd gone insane. She didn't seem to know how to respond to this, her mouth opened and closed several times.

"Well this is different," Annie admitted, still looking confused as she scratched her chin, "You realize it's your life at risk, right?"

"Yes."

"That you're risking for me."

"Yes."

"Are you drunk or insane?"

"Is it really that strange?" Varanian wondered in amusement before realizing how non-amusing it was, "Is it really so odd for someone to care about you?"

"Yeah," Annie admitted and toyed with the bottle before sighing, "Do you really think there's a chance to save Jack?"

"I don't know," Varanian told her truthfully and she looked down in disappointment, "But there's more chance of figuring something out if we try instead of spending the rest of our lives in this bar."

"Okay," Annie agreed with a weak smile that he returned slightly, their eyes holding a gaze for a long lingering minute before they finally and unfortunately tore their eyes away. She staggered to her feet unsteadily and reached into her pocket to toss some muggle money onto the bar, "Just need to pee first. And the drinking at home thing still stands, right?"

"Just the first one," Varanian grumbled, kind of wishing he hadn't said that but at least she was coming back to the hideout.

"I'll take it," Annie shrugged and went to leave but he grabbed her arm, "What?"

"Wand," Varanian insisted, handing it back to her.

She took it and eyed it cautiously for a moment before pocketing it with a serious nod, she continued on unsteady legs as indicator of the alcohol she had consumed. He watched her head to the toilet, the same one the man had went to as clearly it wasn't a large enough establishment to have more than one bathroom. Annie opened it and went it while Varanian scowled, he didn't remember noticing the man he'd seen go in leave and there was still a half-drunk glass where he'd been sitting. His bad feeling returned but he tried to push it aside, for all he knew the door led to another room that led to more than one toilet. Yes, that was a thing.

"Varanian!" an official voice barked from behind him and he froze, "Turn around slowly and put your hands on your head, you're under arrest."

Sitting came very much in useful, it was easier to be discrete about reaching for the wand inside his coat. He retrieved it as he slowly stood, keeping it down the length of his arm as he started to turn as commanded and waiting until the last possible moment before they'd realize it was in his hand...

He brandished it and turned faster, the cramped tables slamming up as a line of shields to defend against the assortment of spells they fired the second they saw his wand. Several of the tables exploded while others just caught fire, he discarded them as quickly as he'd raised them and - taking in the scene quickly, five Aurors lined up neatly in front of the door wall - instead jabbed his wand at the ceiling above the Aurors. It started to collapse in on them immediately, one disapparated and two were smart enough to raise their wands to stop the crumbling roof in its tracks.

He fired two stunners quickly while they were distracted with that, one hit and the guy crumpled to the ground with the roof falling on him like his comrades but the other had a split second more time to react. She flicked her wand and sent the pieces of ceiling above her to use as a shield in front of her, exploding as it took the stunner for her. The barkeeper's nationality was confirmed as he started yelling things in German, Varanian glancing to make sure the man hadn't been harmed by anything - he hadn't - cost him a slight advantage. The Auror had fired an _Acuta_ at him in the second he'd looked away.

He slashed out with his own to block it but she was already using it again, if she thought she could beat him at an Acutus fight then she was quite mistaken. He defended it effortlessly - she was slower than both Annie and Scorpius who he'd been teaching to spar recently - and the second, and the third, on the fourth he defended it and launched out with stunner as well. She was force to leap away to avoid it and he flicked his wand at the ground she'd landed on, causing it to buck and throw her off. He struck her with a stunner while she was still in midair, sending her flying back to hit one of the Aurors who was trying to climb out of the rubble.

He was reminded of the Auror who'd disapparated by another _crack_ from behind him, he slashed his wand at a table as he turned to defend against whatever spell it was. It was best to not rely on Shield Charms when you didn't know what it was, Aurors were allowed to use them and Shadows had no qualms with using them either. The table successfully defended him from the spell but whatever it had been, the force of it still propelled him violently back. He crashed through the door painfully and tumbled out into the Muggle Street outside, his table smashed to smithereens behind him.

Varanian now found himself in a ring of Aurors, he made a sweeping motion with his wand and the ground beneath them was transfigured to water. The spells they'd fired at him went spiraling off in random directions as they abruptly dropped into the ring of water now surrounding him, he got to his feet and flicked his wand again to transfigure it back to stone to trap them in place. He really needed to get Annie and get out, he especially didn't like fighting Aurors because he had to hold back out of not wanting to hurt the good ones. He was about to head back inside for her when he heard cracks all around, more Aurors.

This time it was much more difficult to avoid spells and he had nothing to use to defend himself in the street, he spun on his heel dragging his wand through the air and conjuring a Shield Charm all around him. It knew it was immediately being shattered as the multiple spells struck it but it bought him precious seconds to fire his own defense back, spinning again except this time firing stunners rapidly at the seven newcomers or six as one was struck by his rebounding spell.

Varanian had to keep turning, firing stunners and slamming up shields at lightning speed to try duel the six at once, dodging as much as possible without moving from his spot. Straining his body to react faster than possible because his life quite probably defended on it, one went down and another was struck by a stray spell from his comrade. He couldn't believe this was actually working. Not that he was untouched, a spell caught his shoulder and cut quite deeply but he didn't allow it to slow him down. He couldn't stop, he couldn't focus on anything but the flurry of spells coming to and from him.

The fourth Auror went down and Varanian took the final three by surprise by jumping into the air, jabbing his wand at the ground which caused it to shake and knock the remaining three of their feet. He hit it with the counter spell as he landed to stop it from affecting him, he forced to detour from his plan to stun them while they were down by the arrival of another _crack_ from behind him again. For some reason he was sure it was the same apparating Auror from before, nonetheless he threw up a shield behind him while turning as they hadn't been using Unforgivables indicating they probably weren't Shadows as Shadows were much freer with using them.

The Shield Charm didn't seem to have worked though as he felt something prick his leg, it was odd because he saw it still there as he turned. He glanced down and saw why, the Auror hadn't fired a spell but simply thrown something. Some kind of small dart thing, he yanked it out of his leg with his free hand in panic as he suspected it was the Power Blocking potion. Even as he moved his hand though, he could feel it started to kick in as his limbs seemed to be losing strength. For some inexplicable reason, his scars were visible.

His mind felt suddenly groggy as he raised his wand against the Auror who'd fired it, his vision was going blurry through. The spell didn't leave his wand despite willing it too, instead a wave of dizziness overcame him and he realized he was falling. He hit the ground with a violent thud, he tried to will himself to move, to fight it, to get up. But his limbs almost felt like they were shutting down, he became very aware of the beating of his own heart. And the beating was become slower.

Hadn't... Hadn't Annie said something before about it being bad for him to be hit by the Power Blocking potion as he was a metamorphmagus? His heart was definitely started to beat slower, that was the only thing telling him he was still conscious as his eyes had either closed or stopped seeing. And he couldn't breathe, he became aware that his lungs were no longer functioning. He tried to draw breathe but he couldn't, he couldn't make himself breathe. He couldn't even perform the most basic of functions.

Was this really how he was going to die? After all the crap he had been through, at tiny dart filled with poison was going to kill him? _No, fight it,_ he pleaded of his failing body but he couldn't. He couldn't die, he still needed to stop the Shadows. All he could do was feel his dying heartbeat, even his thoughts seemed to be fading away. He tried to hold on, he tried to fight it, he tried to... he had to…


	15. Chapter 15: A Night In A Day

_**Parts (60-64)**_

* * *

**V  
**

**Chapter 15  
**

A Night In A Day

* * *

**Part 1: **Nightfall

* * *

Michael and Orous seemed quite shocked by the thought of Calderon being Voldemort's son but nonetheless were on board with helping, it couldn't hurt to talk to the guy as they could still be wrong after all. Roman was feeling good about things and was excited at the thought of spending some time with Orous for the train journey, his son seemed surprised at the sudden switch from Shadows to schoolwork but Roman was eager to hear how he was doing and have a better relationship with his sons. All three of his sons. Plus they had a lot of time to kill. Leila occasionally chimed in to help when Roman was struggling with conversation while Michael just sat brooding and quiet in the corner, Roman suspected he was drunk or hung-over.

When they left the train, they headed straight to a carriage before their other friends could spot them. Orous had said the others were either with their respective boyfriends or girlfriends or back at Hogwarts, it seemed easier to wait on telling them until they had answers the same way they were with Varanian so it was just between the four of them. Roman was again struck by the feeling of having not too fond memories of Hogwarts, he also didn't like the scary looking things pulling the carriages. They were quiet for the duration of the journey, half afraid it wouldn't work and Roman was shocked to see the alcoholic was a prefect. He was almost expecting to suddenly be caught out and recognized as a non-student but it didn't happen, they slipped in unnoticed. Orous and Michael let them through the familiar yet unfamiliar halls until finally reaching Calderon's room.

"That's where he lives," Orous pointed out.

"He's not there now though, he oversees the return of the luggage to everyone's dormitories," Michael added, "So you might want to wait, the classroom over there is unused so if you just watch yourselves that should be okay."

"Sounds like a plan," Leila nodded in agreement.

"We have to go, it'll seem suspicious if we're not at dinner," Orous explained regretfully, "But I'll try get you some food from the kitchens after."

"Thank you."

Roman was pleased and surprised when Orous gave him a hug in farewell before he and Michael headed off, he and Leila slipped into the indicated unused room. After unlocking the door magically, of course. It was rather dusty in there. He set about cleaning it magically while Leila cast a shocking spell on the door, she vanished it. He rushed over to her in panic.

"What are you doing?! We need to stay hidden!" Roman protested and Leila just smirked, "We can't talk to Calderon if we get kicked out and locked up first."

"It's a spell, Rome, it lets us see out but not others see in," Leila explained calmly, "If you don't believe me then go and see for yourself."

Roman frowned anxiously as he headed over, reaching out to the blank door frame and finding his fingers still surprisingly running over wood. He pushed open the door and went back out into the corridor, seeing sure enough the door was solid from that side He returned back into the room and closed it behind him, looking out and seeing they did have a perfect view of Calderon's door to see when the assistant returned.

"Satisfied?" Leila asked of him smugly and he nodded, "I guess now we wait then."

* * *

"Varanian? Varanian, can you hear me?"

Varanian became aware he still existed which was a relief, he could still feel his heart beating. It was strong now, regular but forceful and violent, almost painful. For some inexplicable reason he thought the voice was Annie, he quickly batted that thought aside though as it was clearly a man's voice. He fought to open his eyes, he really had to fight and even then the most he felt them twitch. Abruptly he felt rough fingers jabbing themselves into his eyes to open them for him, the hand moved away and they remained open.

"He's awake, boss, he was just faking," a deep voice rumbled.

He finally had a chance to take in his surroundings though, he was in a white walled room with a concrete floor. There were no windows but there was a steel door, a metallic table in the center with a matching metallic chair either side. He was lying down on his back, seemingly in a corner with his head turned to face the rest of the room and from the angle he'd guess he was on some kind of cot as he wasn't on the ground. He was in an interrogation room in the Ministry of Magic.

His eyes darted down his body and he saw he was now in prisoner robes, the thin gray sheet of fabric seemed to be all he had on. His feet were bare and his ring, he was horrified to realize they'd even taken his precious wedding ring from him. He also saw he was bound, he could feel the cold chains on his ankles and wrists binding him down to the cot he was on. He ached still. He wasn't alone, there was a hulking Auror he vaguely recalled had arrested him a few years ago and sitting on the table was none other than Harry Potter himself.

"Thank you, Arkaitz," Potter commented with a nod to the Auror but his bespectacled, tired emerald eyes didn't leave Varanian's, Arkaitz nodded and exited the room, "I must apologize first off. We had no idea how much our Power Suppressing Potion would effect a metamorphmagus, shutting down your body and killing you was not my intention. Some of the Aurors caught on and managed to keep you alive though, you're on a number of potions to ensure your heart will keep beating and you will live while under the effects of the potion. Considering your talents, I believe it's best to deprive you of your powers."

Varanian opened his mouth to speak against this or at least he tried to, it wasn't even a case of no words coming out but of his jaw not even moving. He tried to move but found he couldn't and not because of the restraints, his fingers and toes wouldn't so much as wriggle nor would his body shift its shape. He couldn't even turn his head and as his eyes started to sting from being open, he realized he couldn't even blink. He was helpless, completely and utterly powerless. If he was in control of his heart, it would've twisted in terror.

"And you see, Varanian?" Potter continued, holding up his arms as if to indicate their surroundings, "You're in my custody and no Shadows have tried to kill you yet, your paranoia is unfounded."

He would admit that was odd, there were still plenty of Shadow Aurors so he'd expect for them to have taken advantage of his situation. Did they not consider him a threat anymore or did they just have bigger things to deal with right now? What could those things possibly be?

"You're not going to say anything?" Potter complained at him with a tone of irritation, "We're alone, I'm listening. This is your chance to speak, to defend yourself, to share your side."

Varanian tried again but he was physically incapable, he still couldn't even blink despite the only increasing discomfort. Potter didn't seem to realize this though, either he'd been told wrong or the... whoever had misjudged things. They may be keeping him alive but he wasn't capable of speech or movement, he didn't even have a way of communicating this and could just hope Potter would notice.

"Nothing? You're going to say nothing?" Potter snapped in a darker, angrier tone.

Varanian wanted to scream in frustration at his inability to speak, this was a chance to tell Potter what he knew but he couldn't so much as make a sound. Also because his eyes were stinging and his heart beat was really starting to feel painful.

"This isn't helping your case, you know?"

_I know, I just can't do anything about it_, Varanian thought to himself bitterly as his mouth again refused to articulate this statement.

"I don't have time for this, Varanian, we have intelligence that suggests the next Shadow attack is set to go down today," Potter informed him and Varanian got the feeling his eyes didn't widen as he'd wanted, "Do you know anything about that?"

He didn't, it was the first he'd heard about it. Which was odd again, he knew he was far from being aware of everything but he did tend to be ahead of the Aurors in terms of knowledge. Either he was really slipping up in the spying department or... or Potter had heard it from the spy, the Shadows wanted them to know? Why would they do that? Unless it was a misdirect, keeping them distracted while they could do what they really wanted. If there was something going down, it would explain why they hadn't bothered with him.

"What about my son?" Potter half-questioned, half-demanded, "Do you know anything about my son? Did you take him? Do you know if they did?"

Varanian yet again tried to make his mouth move and cursed his situation, wanting to scream even more in frustration. Was it not obvious he was unable to?! Dammit, how hard was it to notice?! He didn't even feel his face twisting with the emotion he was feeling.

"Answer me!" Potter yelled at him angrily.

Varanian remained paralyzed, willing Potter to notice because he would very much like to communicate with him. After a few minutes of silence, the Head Auror slipped his wand into his hand and sighed heavily.

"Look, I don't have time for this," Potter insisted as he thumbed the handle of his wand, looking away from him now, "It's legal for Aurors to use Unforgivables in this Shadow War right now, did you know that? Your great-grandfather was the last Head Auror before me to earn that right."

_He's my grandfather not my great-grandfather, you idiot,_ Varanian complained at him mentally albeit quite uselessly, his mouth still not moving and his eyes still stinging painfully from not blinking.

"I try not to, I try restrict use of them and make sure they are only used in dire need. While I may not like it, in dire need I have no problem exercising my legal right," Potter told him in a darker done before looking back to him, "If you don't start talking then I'll start torturing you."

* * *

Orous and Michael returned with the food as promised before returning to bed and to prefect patrols, Michael coming back much later to take away the plates and cutlery. Calderon returned later as well, vague memories of seeing the assistant around returning to Roman. He didn't think he looked like the son of Voldemort, he looked pretty regular really. He was tall and thin much like Roman, maybe a bit taller, paler and lankier though. He dark eyes and darker hair that was very neat, he was wearing muggle clothes and had a silver dragon necklace on. Even from a distance he spotter the arrow rune scars on his palms, aside from that and the accompanying lights hovering around him, he looked pretty regular though. Roman made to stand.

"Don't," Leila insisted and grabbed his wrist, "Wait until the Polyjuice wears off, I want to face him as myself and it may give us a bit more credibility."

"Alright," Roman sighed, not that he disagreed. He'd rather look like himself anyway, the batch was just quite a strong one. He just wanted it to be done.

They took it in turns getting some sleep and keeping watch through the enchanted door, waiting for the Polyjuice to wear off and making sure Calderon was still there. It lasted the whole night, they still weren't themselves by the time Orous and Michael checked on them before breakfast and classes. He supposed it didn't matter anyway, Calderon had left earlier that morning. Voldemort's probable returned about lunch time though, holding a plate of salad and retreated into his room. Not too long after that, the Polyjuice finally wore off. They made sure the coast was clear before crossing the corridor, taking a deep breath and knocking on his door.

* * *

Maurice was happy, he was genuinely happy. The jump to OWLs proved to give him work that was more on his level, admittedly it still wasn't difficult but it was better than the Fourth Year work had been at least. The only downside really was that he missed his friends, not that he didn't like his Fifth Year friends - he actually quite missed Scorpius while he was suspended - but he missed Corin, Vern and Orous. He'd been in classes with Corin for six years and he missed his friend, he also missed helping Vern out with improving his spell work to fight the Shadows and Orous, he missed making up for lost time with his twin especially with Divination since that was the one class they had together.

He was still dating Lenore - he still hadn't forgiven Rose, she hadn't even apologized to Lenore yet and tried to avoid her - which was just wonderful, they'd both stayed in Hogwarts for the Easter break to spend time together as with the heavier workload for OWLs that he was doing now along with her NEWTs still it was harder to find time. It had been wonderful having the week to themselves, Maurice had had a very good time and he still couldn't stop smiling. He didn't think he'd ever smiled so much in his life.

'Quiz me,' Lenore signed to him, the first day of classes and they'd skipped lunch because she wanted to get some extra studying in but had gotten distracted with snogging for a while. She tossed him her note book.

"You don't need to study," Maurice assured her as he put his hand to his necklace, "It's the first day back, the exams aren't for two months."

_Its six weeks and three days actually_, Lenore insisted as she brushed her beautiful crimson hair from her face, the locks glistening from the sunlight streaming through the windows, _And I need to study if I want to do well, I need to do well. For my uncle_

"You'll do well even if you don't study excessively."

_But not as well. Good grades are the first step to a good job and a better life, not having to struggle to get by. My uncle's a good man, he deserves it_

"I don't think we really owe our parents anything," Maurice pointed out sincerely, not thinking his parents had earned it after selling him to the Shadows. It just hurt to think about them.

_He's my uncle not my parent, he saved my life and he had no obligation to waste his life by taking on the burden of caring for his brother's child. But he did, he's the greatest man I know. I want to do well for him_, Lenore explained looking quite serious before smiling, _I really should introduce you, I think you'd like him_

"Well he can only be an improvement on my uncle," Maurice offered, his uncle was the Arithmancy professor and was very annoying.

_Very true_

"So what am I quizzing you on?"

'Surprise me,' Lenore signed as he let go of his necklace to pick up the book, 'I can quiz you too if you want.'

"I'm not worried about my OWLs," Maurice brushed it off as he flipped through the book, looking for a particularly interesting or difficult subject to test on her. He didn't think he'd have much trouble with NEWTs if this was what they did, "I did get straight O starts on my test results again and if I do badly then I can always just do my OWLs in my actual Fifth Year instead."

Maurice scowled in confusion as his reading light suddenly went dark, he looked up in surprise to see the sunlight was gone and a blanket of blackness was now covering everything. He felt something grab his hand before recognizing Lenore's slender fingers, her grip was unusually tight as if she was terrified. He whipped out his wand and cast the Wand-Lighting Charm, revealing Lenore's petrified face. She seemed surprised by the light as if she'd forgotten she had a wand, abandoning his hand she quickly took hers out and light it up as well with a look of shame. Maurice had suddenly a very bad feeling as he put his freed hand to his necklace in case she spoke while they both stood.

_Did I miss the memo about an eclipse_, Lenore wondered as they moved away from the couch in the unused room, wandering over to the window instead, _Or did it suddenly get really cloudy_

"Neither," Maurice said as they got to the window, outside it looked like night had fallen except it was the middle of the day and there were no stars or clouds to speak of in the sky. There was a blue light in the sky though and an army erupting from the trees.

* * *

"Yes?" a voice called from the other side of the door, Roman exchanged a look with Leila as he was uncertain what to say.

"My name is Leila Akram and this is Roman Rivers, we must speak to you of a matter of utmost urgency," Leila informed him quite truthfully, "It's about the Shadow Master."

"What?" the voice repeated they heard a scrabbling of footsteps before the door opened to see the shocked looking assistant, "How did you even get in here?"

"Long story, not important. Can we come in?"

"Sure," Calderon agreed warily and moved aside to allow them to enter a small but empty, windowless broom closet, for a second Roman thought it that he hadn't drawn a wand on them before remembering he didn't need one, "What is it?"

"Are you the son of Voldemort?" Leila blurted out with an abruptness that surprised even Roman, he spared a glance to her face to see her looking more serious and determined then he'd ever seen in his life. She was one wasting time trying to save Cyrus.

"I..." Calderon started to say, the shock showing on his face and the explosion of lights around them more proof of striking a nerve or possibly just surprising them. Roman felt slightly afraid but Leila was fearless, her eyes not leaving the assistant who finally sighed, "Yes."

"Is Marius Calderon even your real name?" Roman asked him curiously, feeling surprised to have it confirmed despite having suspected it for months now.

"No. How do you even know about me?"

"Because I have a theory about Herpo's Scepter, I've studied it," Leila explained without hesitation or her expression changing to register the confirmation of who he was, "You know what that is, right?"

"Yeah."

"Herpo was your ancestor and the Scepter works so well for the Shadow Master because Herpo's also his or her ancestor but then you already know that, don't you?" Leila pressed and Calderon looked away ashamedly, his lights turning blue, "You know you're the Shadow Master's brother."

"I know," Calderon confirmed sadly and Leila pushed on.

"There are two things the Scepter picks up on to identify the holder as the descendant of its original master: magic and blood. The Shadow Master clearly cares about masking who they are despite admitting their heritage, hiding behind Polyjuice Potion to do this."

"I'm not telling you who they are," Calderon stated firmly as he looked back to them.

"Frankly, I don't give a damn who they are. I give a damn that my son is trapped in Greece if he's even still alive and stopping your sibling is the only way to get to him," Leila said without missing a beat and Calderon looked away guiltily again, "Since Polyjuice changes your blood, it would confuse the Scepter recognizing the power but not blood and it wouldn't respond as well so to counter this they turned into you during their interaction with it, probably future uses it of it as well. Because of that, you're the _only_ one who can stop them."

"I can't fight them," Calderon protested as he glanced back up, "Even if I wanted to, the Scepter takes them to a new level."

"Exactly my point!" Leila burst out, sounding desperate now, "If you both went after the Scepter as yourselves, it's anyone's guess who would win. But if you're you and the Shadow Master's just pretending to be you, the Scepter's going to go to you because you are being true to yourself while your sibling is not. If you fight them, you can get the Scepter to come to you! Then you'll be the most powerful one, you can destroy the Scepter, destroy the Shadow Master and end the damn war!"

"I don't... I don't want to... to hurt my... sibling," Calderon muttered unhappily as he hung his head.

"So what if it's your sibling?!" Leila snapped almost angrily, "They're destroying the world, I've seen it with my own eyes! And you are the only one in the world who has the power to stop them! You have to make a choice, you have to choose who you want to be! Do you want to be Marius Calderon or Voldemort's son?! Do you want to be the one who fights the darkness or the one who defends it?!"

"Something's wrong," Calderon said abruptly as his head shot up again, this time his expression as serious, "The enchantments, someone just broke the enchantments around the school even mine."

"What-" Roman started to ask but Calderon had already pushed past them.

He exchanged a look with a Leila and the two raced outside into the corridor after him, Roman was shocked to see it was now dark as if night had come while they'd been talking. Except that was quite impossible, it was the middle of the day yet the sunlight no longer streamed through the windows. Calderon was approaching one and they followed, peering out to see a blue light in the sky standing out in the darkness.

"This is it," Leila breathed, swallowing anxiously, "It's happening again. You have to make your choice now, Calderon, the Shadow Master's here."

* * *

Celestine waited patiently and somewhat nervously in Harry's office, he'd already pocketing James' wand to take to the traitor and was instead staring at the crystal on the wall opposite the door. Waiting with wand in hand, he had to be fast. The crystal had been enchanted to alert them if Hogwarts was under attack, an irritating security measure as it meant he had to be there to shut it off lest the Aurors be alerted. It was something of a risk, if he was caught turning it off then his cover would be blown but very few were capable of shutting it off then erasing the fact he'd done it. It should end up looking like Rutherford's enchantments had simply failed.

The crystal flashed red and his wrist flicked in an instant to silence it, he started muttering under his breath and making the complicated motions with his wand to end it. There were a slight whooshing sound and the crystal faded back to the milky white it had been before, the attack had begun. He was about to start on the second enchantment when the door opened and he pocketed his wand as fast as possible, spinning to see who had entered and was rather anxious to see it was Leebin.

"What are you doing here?" Celestine snapped at him in a sharper tone then he knew was necessary but of all the people to walk in on him, Leebin was the worst.

"Looking for Harry to give him these reports he wanted," Leebin answered readily and seemed to suppress a yawn, raising his arm to indicate the files he held.

"He's not here, he's down interrogating Varanian," Celestine told him quite truthfully, striding over to Leebin and snatching the files from him, "I can give these to him for you."

"And what are you doing here?" Leebin asked in a conversational tone that didn't fool Celestine.

"Waiting for Harry," Celestine lied, trying to use the same nonchalant tone, "I want to talk to him about something but it can wait until he's done with Varanian. You can go now."

"Alright then," Leebin nodded and Celestine went to breathe a sigh of relief before seeing the younger man hover in the doorway, putting a hand on the door frame and turning back to him, "You missed your last session, by the way."

"I got caught up with something because I have a job, I'm busy trying to end this war if you hadn't noticed," Celestine snapped in complaint but tried to soften his tone, it would be more suspicious to keep avoiding him, "I'll talk to you this week, rearrange a better time. Okay?"

"Okay," Leebin, his pale blue eyes lingering on him for a moment before he left and Celestine let out the breathe he'd been holding in.

He hated Leebin. Aside from thinking psychology a rather dumb profession in the first place, it made him very afraid of being discovered, paranoid Leebin would figure it out. He'd known Leebin's father too when he first started, Logan had been a respected Auror and Harry's mentor. Celestine had joined after killing his parents to prove his dedication to Sal, the summer he graduated. Harry had been good to him, sympathizing with him being an orphan and understanding what it was like to lose a parent to a Dark Wizard. But Logan? Logan had been nothing but suspicious and distrustful of him, his eyes always seemed to see through him. As different as Leebin was to his father, the eyes and suspicions were one thing they shared.

He'd gotten lucky with Logan's mental breakdown and subsequent suicide, unfortunately he hadn't been so lucky with Logan's son. He couldn't risk killing him and making it look a suicide, Harry would be immediately suspicious it wasn't genuine and he couldn't risk killing him outright either as it would also be suspicious if he'd told Harry of his distrust for Celestine. If he had, he didn't think Harry had thought much of it but he would if Leebin suddenly showed up dead. It was a shame Leebin couldn't have just stayed home and been killed in the attack, he hoped Leebin's family died in it though and that his werewolf son finally died from his condition. With any luck, it could make history repeat itself. Like father, like son.

Celestine would have to find a way to get rid of him though in a way that didn't arouse suspicion, same for Varanian depending on how long Sal intended to wait before targeting London. He wouldn't know until after the attack, it would depend how it went as defeating her brother could be taxing on her strength. Varanian should be silent now though, his reaction to the Suppressing Potion had been adverse. He dumped the files and turned back to the crystal to work on the final spell, erasing knowledge of his turning it off. Like a wand could be made recall the last spell used, the crystal could be made to recall who had last shut it off which was Harry from December. He let out a relieved breath as he lowered his wand for a final time, task completed. Now the attack was underway and no one was coming to help them.

* * *

**Part 2: **Forwards

* * *

Scorpius sighed heavily as he pulled him out of bed on Friday morning, the first time all break he'd not been to the hideout to train. Varanian had told him not to bother coming yesterday since Wyatt was on a stakeout and they'd be confronting Jack, he'd promised to ring him when they were done but hadn't yet. Scorpius had even woke up early as usual in readiness but no such message had come, he'd gone back to sleep for several hours and for once it wasn't a lie to say he'd had a lie in. He was actually feeling quite refreshed from a proper night's sleep and a break from extensive training, he'd rather be training. He was tempted to go back already, he thought maybe Varanian had simply forgotten to message him as it shouldn't be taking this long.

He decided to wait a bit though lest his parents think it odd he wasn't up yet, so he washed and dressed before heading downstairs. Two things took him by surprise as he reached the parlor where his parents were, the first was the fact Leebin's children were there and the second was that their mother wasn't. Not unless she was in the bathroom or something. His father was sitting opposite Maurene, setting up a game of wizard's chess by the sound of it while his mother was on the other side of the room with the babies. Sol was standing in his playpen and gnawing on the rail he held onto while his mother held Lysel, who was looking severely ill. His skin had a grayish tinge and he looked thinner than the last time he'd seen him, there was still a weak smile on his face as his mother spoke softly to him.

"And it's called a Knight," his father was explaining to Maurene.

"It's a horse," Maurene pointed out as if it was quite obvious.

"No it's not, it's a Knight."

"But it's a horse."

"I know it _looks_ like a horse but it's a Knight."

"Did a Knight get turned into a horse?" Maurene guessed curiously and his father sighed heavily.

"Yes, the Knight got turned into a horse but it's still called a Knight," his father told her to silence her more than anything else, the girl nodded content though and he pointed out another one, "Now this is called the Castle."

"That's just a tower though, where is the rest of the Castle?" Maurene asked immediately and his father looked like he wanted to slap himself, "Did it get destroyed?"

"Yes it got destroyed! Now, this can move as many squares at it wants but only up and down."

"How can it move if it's a destroyed Castle? And if it can, why is it not destroying everything since it's bigger than peoples?"

"Magic," his father said looking exasperated as Scorpius started to move over to his mother, "And this is the Bishop. Do you have any particular problem with the Bishop?!"

"I don't know what a Bishop is," Maurene admitted, pushing her glasses back up her nose as Scorpius moved out of earshot.

"Good morning sleepy head," his mother offered, giving him a smile.

"Morning," Scorpius greeted her and Sol glanced at him disinterestedly before continuing trying to eat the rail.

"Mor-nin," Lysel tried to pronounce it with a look of intense concentration, up close Scorpius saw he was leaning weakly against his mother and his golden eyes had black bags beneath them.

"That's right, good morning," his mother told the infant encouragingly who smiled weakly again at the praise before his eyes drifted half-shut, his mother's smile faded, "He's not doing so good recently."

"Why is he even here?" Scorpius wondered curiously, "Where's his parents?"

"Myriam has a job interview and Flan has work, I volunteered us to watch them for her. It's tough to get work as a werewolf, despite laws supposed to stop it but they really need the money," his mother pointed out and gestured to the table behind where there was a long stand holding several different vials of different potions, "Lysel's potions are expensive."

"How long is the interview? A week?"

"That's just a day's supply and that's not including the nighttime ones or what he's already had," his mother explained and Scorpius glanced sympathetically at Lysel, who seemed to be trying to stay awake, "It's about time I have to give him one now even. I had the house-elves save you some breakfast by the way, it's in the kitchen."

"Thanks, Mother," Scorpius offered with gratitude before heading back towards the door to do that.

"I win!" Maurene exclaimed delightedly and Scorpius paused curiously, seeing her fist pump the air and seeing she had indeed checkmated his father.

"What?! How did...?! You don't even know how to play!" his father protested, seemingly angry at losing to a young child.

"Oh, my Daddy taughted me to play," Maurene brushed it off, starting to reset the board while his father looked frustrated, "Do you want to play the Lord Queen of the Chess again?"

"If your father taught you to play then why didn't you ask him all those questions about the pieces!?"

"Because Daddy is busy lots with working so I don't want to waste time but you don't do anything so I can ask you."

"I don't_ not_ do anything," his father protested and Scorpius froze, for some reason irritated, "I certainly don't do less than your father, he doesn't even a real job. I do-"

"No you don't," Scorpius snapped, surprising both himself and his father, "You don't do anything. Leebin _helps_ people! What do you do?! What have you ever done?!"

"Lots of things."

"Lots of bad things! Even Mother snuck back into Hogwarts to fight in the final battle as a teenager!"

"I know I made mistakes in the past," his father admitted quietly, looking at him in confusion, "But I'm a better person now."

"A better person?!" Scorpius scoffed, not sure where this was even coming from, "What?! What better things do you do?! Professor Ashain was an Auror, he fought to stop the Death Eaters and now he fights to stop the Soul Eaters while also teaching us to defend ourselves and despite the fact it means standing against his own brother! Calderon is just an assistant but he steps up to the plate and defends people every time something goes wrong! Varanian has the entire world against him but he's still fighting to save it from the Shadows! Cassia and Antonius aren't even in double digits yet but they'll still stand up and _fight_, they're brave enough to defy the Shadow Master to his face! Grandfather sacrificed his soul!"

"Scorpius-"

"What do you do, Father, huh!? What do you do?!" Scorpius screamed at him, his fists clenched and shaking with this unrealized rage, "What are you doing beyond sitting in this mansion, high and mighty in your own little bubble without knowing or caring what's going on in the world?! Because as long as it doesn't affect you, who gives a shit, right?! You don't do anything!"

"I take care of my family," his father insisted and Scorpius felt his lips curl into a sneer.

"Well you didn't do a good job taking care of me and Lyra, did you!"

Scorpius knew he'd gone too far when he saw the hurt shattering his father's neutral expression, he didn't even know why he was going this way at all or feeling angry. He loved his father, he really did. He just... didn't think he did anything. Nothing worthwhile. Nothing to look up to. He realized everyone in the room old enough to walk was looking at him now, he'd been loud enough for even his mother to hear. Feeling embarrassed, he immediately fled the room.

"Scorpius!" his father called after him and actually came after him, grabbing him and pulling him to a stop in the corridor.

"I'm sorry. I didn't really mean that, I don't really blame you," Scorpius blurted out his apology, realizing it sounded monotonous and insincere, "I know you do your best."

"I do," his father croaked and just looked at him, their identical gray eyes meeting but he didn't seem to know what to say and Scorpius just wanted to get away.

Scorpius shrugged off his father's grip and continued away, this time his father didn't follow and he was glad as he was still ashamed and confused by his outburst. He didn't feel like facing them, he didn't feel like facing any of them. He pulled himself into an unused spare room and Portkeyed away, whether Varanian was there or not he could at least be sure to avoid his family there. He strode through the unbearably bright sunshine to get to the hideout, the trapdoor was already open unlike the last time he'd been there. Varanian was definitely back.

Scorpius headed down into the basement and was shocked to see not Varanian but Annie, she had stripped Varanian's bed and had all his photographs on that in the corner. His mattress and bed had been transfigured to a shoddy metallic-concrete-wood mess as if she'd been uncertain what to transfigure it to and hadn't bothered to correct it, strewn across that and on the table were four separate cauldrons with ingredients strewn between them. There were four ripped pages stuck to the wall in front of her. Annie herself was dressed in Auror robes that were too big for her and was moving between each of the pots, tending to all four potions at once.

"Um... Annie, what are you doing?" Scorpius wondered with a mix of curiosity and confusion.

"Oh hey Scor, I'm just brewing potions," Annie said casually, sparing him a glance before getting back to her work and answered his next question before he'd even asked it, "Varanian was captured by the Ministry, they nearly killed him with the Power Repressing Potion so I'm brewing these potions to get that out of his system and counteract its effects and then I'm breaking into the Ministry to rescue him. Would you like to join me?"

"_What?!_" Scorpius burst out incredulously as he finished reaching the bottom of the steps, wondering if she was being more strangely sardonic than usual.

"I couldn't possibly have made it more concise then that!" Annie protested, still without stopping, "I'm not joking, this is serious. Wyatt's out on a stakeout still and won't be back for ages, Roman's not here for some reason and I have no idea where he is, I have no idea where Dom and Aurelius live either. And I have no way of contacting them quickly or getting to them quickly because wizards are too good for phones, I don't have time to wait because Pip's in danger from being killed by the Shadows while he's captive. So would you like to come with me? I figure I can take all the help I can get so if you want to help awesome and if not fair enough, I'm still going after him."

"What?"

"Are you even hearing anything I'm saying?!"

"I am and it's shocking me," Scorpius pointed out, still reeling from the thought.

"I know but its true and you don't have time to be shocked, enough time has passed already since he was captured yesterday."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?!"

"I don't know where you live nor have any way of contacting you either!" Annie protested and Scorpius held up his hands, realizing it was a fair point, "So are you in or out?"

"I'm in," Scorpius agreed without hesitation and Annie strode over to the corner beside the stairs where Varanian kept clothes, pulling out several items before tossing a bundle of clothes to him and returning to her cauldrons, "What-"

"Go get changed into them, they're Auror robes," Annie explained and he glanced at them, seeing this was true, "I contacted Hal, that junior-apprentice-training Auror whatever who helped us before. He sent me some Auror hair, in half an hour we're meeting him and then teleparappara... whatever it's called! He's taking us there, he'll let us use the secret elevator to bypass security then we can get him out and he'll let us use the elevator again to get out then Pip teledeisparaparates us back. But an extra wand wouldn't hurt in case things go wrong. He sent hair from Weasley and Rooke in case Roman could help so get changed, kid, we got a Ministry to crack."

* * *

"This is your last chance, Varanian," Potter offered and Varanian was forced to say nothing, his situation futile. He still couldn't blink his stinging eyes, "_Crucio!"_

Pain exploded through his body, he may not be able to move it but he could feel it suffering. As if millions of flaming knives were boring into every fraction of his being, he would've screamed if he could but even uttering a cry was impossible. His lungs burned to scream but no sound left his lips, he still couldn't move. Usually people tending to writhe being Cruciated, their bodies trying to twist themselves into a way that would somehow escape their agony but Varanian couldn't even do that. He could only lay there limply as his body refused to react to the intense pain coursing through it and even worse was that Potter seemed to take this as a sign he wasn't doing it right or not intense enough, not realizing how well it was working.

"_Crucio! Crucio! Crucio!_"

But he still couldn't move or make a sound, his heart didn't even break from the forced beating pattern the potions were doing. His body still didn't twitch, no sound escaped him, not even a tear was capable of forming in his eyes. But it _hurt_, it hurt. Unbearably so and it was only increasing, he thought his mind was going to overload from the pain blasting through him. As the scene started to change he thought it did.

_"Let's have a little bit more fun with this shall we? See how long you can go without screaming because first scream I hear, this boy dies."_

_"Crucio!"_

_"Ah-ha I heard a sound!"_

_"Crucio!"_

_"You said a scream not a sound!"_

_"Crucio!"_

_"I don't care what I said."_

_"Crucio!"_

_"David, no!"_

_"Crucio!"_

_"Don't hurt him!"_

_"Crucio!"_

_"Avada Kedavra!"_

_"NO!"_

Varanian felt as if his skull exploded from the pain he was in, or maybe his mind just imploded. Whatever happened, he knew he wasn't in the interrogation room anymore. He was outside, standing on cracked and brown, broken ground as if it was dried out. It was a street though, or at least there were buildings to his left and right as he could see and could actually move to look at them. Except they were upside down, perfectly formed and undamaged houses except upside down with the tip of the roofs balancing unmoving off the ground. Except for the doors, they weren't in the usual place but rather built into the roof in any way it could or standing on the ground if the roof was flat. They were all different, some looked modern, some looked old, there were detached, semi-detached, terraced, bungalows, muggle buildings that weren't homes, magical buildings that weren't homes, there were even shops but every sign was blank. Some were stone, some were metal, some were concrete, some were brick, some were granite, some were wood.

It was the most random mismatched assortment of buildings he'd ever seen in his life, he'd also never seen buildings upside down before in his life. In all different colors, sizes and styles to boot and so close together, any gaps between buildings were fixed with a solid redbrick wall. In general, everything seemed to be seen in an odd red-orange kind of light. He looked up and down the street, the line of upside down buildings stretched out as far as he could see in both directions without any sign of a turning off it or a fork in the road. He glanced up and felt his heart twisting into panic, so much so that he fell fearfully to the ground. The sky was on fire... or the sky _was_ fire? That's all there was, in place of clouds or stars or a clear sky. There were flames. Lapping, writhing flames without a source or smoke, casting shades of red, gold and orange down upon the strange street. He kept his eyes on it, terrified of it suddenly falling or burning him. How he hated fire.

"Get up," a gruff voice growled.

Varanian was so shocked by the sudden appearance of someone else and who else it was that he leaped up obediently, realizing as he did so that he was a child. He glanced at his grandfather - who certainly hadn't been there a second ago - to see he looked pretty much exactly as Varanian remembered him, aged with scraggly gray hair till falling over his face, scar intact and his walking stick in hand. He didn't look like a frail old man though as that description could easily bring to mind, Enoch Varanian had never stopped radiating power and strength. After a lingering and ever disapproving glance, he started walking up the street and Varanian scrambled to follow and walked by his side.

"Grandfather, where am I? What's happening?" Varanian questioned desperately and his grandfather gave a grunt, rolling his eyes while Varanian realized his voice also sounded like a child.

"We're inside your bloody head, you should know," his grandfather spat at him.

"Inside my head?" Varanian wondered in surprise and looked around the bizarre place, "It's a little messed up, isn't it?"

"Look around you, Pip, it's fucked to hell! You know you're screwed up in the head, what did you expect?! Fields of unicorns and skies of rainbows?! That'd be even _more_ fucked up!"

"I don't know," Varanian muttered and looked around, "I it'd be something I'd like."

"Why? You don't like yourself," his grandfather pointed out and he could only shrug.

"Am I just insane then?"

"Possibly," his grandfather shrugged instead, "Always knew you were weak, figures a simple bit of torture could've snapped your mind. Or it could be the variety of powerful potions you're on. Or a combination of the two."

"That means you're not real then?" Varanian said with disappointment as he glanced up at his grandfather, in response he was smacked painfully across the back of the head.

"I'm real to you and that's all that matters!"

"Okay," Varanian muttered as he rubbed his head, walking in silence for a bit before something occurred to him, "Where are we going, Grandfather?"

"Dunno," his grandfather shrugged again.

"Then why are you walking?!"

"Because that's life, Pip! Times keeps walking you forwards, regardless of whether you know where you're going or if you're ready to face it."

"I know that, it's what I'm doing that I don't know," Varanian admitted unhappily, "I have to stop the Shadows but I don't know how and the more I try, I just feel like it makes things worse or that I just fail. When I was burned alive by the maze last year, I just kept thinking about how I'd failed and now the world was going to fall, that'd I die before I could stop them. And now I'm alive, I just keep feeling distracted and uncertain, afraid of failing. Thinking about Annie and my family instead of the Shadows."

"It's always the damn way with you!" his grandfather snapped at him, "Always you'd want to play or write a letter to your girlfriend instead of training. And do you know how I dealt with that?"

"By burning my letters and whipping my feet?"

"I resolved those issues! And you need to do the same, deal with your Annie issues, deal with your family guilt trip and focus," his grandfather told him seriously, "What did I teach you about fear or problems? You have to face them, not run away inside your head like you're doing now! It's not going to take a million years to talk to one girl and forgive yourself. Maybe if you cleared your head of this other crap then you could think of something that's not going to end in failure!"

"I don't think it's that simple..."

"Yes it is! You make things so freaking complicated! You know it's not your fault, you get tortured enough these days without having to do it to yourself. And just talk to Annie, stop thinking about you feel and start thinking about how _she_ feels You can't make her stop drinking unless you know what's starting her in the first place and you're not going to figure out what to do about liking her unless you even know what she thinks since it's about her as much as it is you. Is that really so bloody hard?!"

"Okay so what do I do about the Shadows?" Varanian asked hopefully, "What would you do?"

"You need to take it one step at a time!" his grandfather complained at him, "Did I teach you nothing?! You idiot! You can't just apparate to the end if you don't know where you're going, you need to walk it and that is one step at a time. What is the most pressing issue?"

"Well, about that attack Harry mentioned that's supposed to go down today."

"Maybe it's a lie."

"I thought of that but it makes sense, explains why no one's tried to kill me yet. There are bigger things at work. And it even could work, Potter's so busy trying to figure out where the next attack is that he doesn't realize..." Varanian started to say but trailed off as something horrible occurred to him, "Doesn't realize it's already happening."

"But that doesn't make any sense, does it. After all, distracting Potter would only be necessary if the next attack was on England."

"But I'm in the Ministry, if the next attack is for England then why aren't they attacking?" Varanian questioned in confusion, "If they want to take over England like they did Greece, London is the obvious place to attack."

"Unless they wanted something else first, "his grandfather prompted.

"What could the Shadow Master possibly want more than taking over England?"

"What do they keep trying to get?" his grandfather asked with a knowing look.

"Hogwarts," Varanian realized aloud, "Marius never attended it so he was always wanted to, we know the Shadow Master's in the same boat. Except unlike Marius being content to just work there, the Shadow Master wants to take it over or destroy it or something. Especially since that's what his father died trying to take."

"That would be my guess."

"I have to get out of here, I have to stop them, I have to warn Potter," Varanian started to plan in panic and realized his voice was his adult voice again, he was also on the same level as his grandfather again and he felt his hope be crushed, "Except I can't communicate with him."

"Well the way I see it, one of two things can happen," his grandfather offered as he withdrew his wand, flexing it in his wrist, "First is that your trying to do everything alone bites you in the butt, you go insane or die or... well it doesn't matter, the Shadows win. _Or_ the people whose help you keep rejecting come through for you because they're willing to risk their lives and freedom for you and for stopping the Shadows just like you would."

"What do I do until then?"

"Stop hiding in here like a coward!" his grandfather snapped in a harsher tone, spinning to a halt and to face him as he aimed his wand.

"Why do you hate me so much?" Varanian sighed and his grandfather suddenly became a mirror image of himself, it chuckled.

"You already know, you just won't admit it. Not even to yourself."

"I-"

_"Crucio!"_

Varanian was back, as suddenly as he was gone he was back. Drowning in a sea of agony from Potter's wand, his body may as well have been a statue. The door burst abruptly open to reveal Weasley and Rooke, Potter finally dropped the spell to turn to face the newcomers in surprise but Weasley had already fired a stunner that caught Potter in the back. Varanian was just about to wonder why the betrayal and if they were Shadows come to kill him before he realized they were holding Annie and Scorpius' wands.

* * *

Scorpius couldn't believe how well their plan had worked. After the potions - he'd helped a bit after changing into the Auror robes - were done, they'd drank the Polyjuice with Annie become Ron Weasley and Scorpius becoming Cel Rooke. Annie had driven them to the rendezvous point in the nearby town - to preserve the location of Varanian's hideout - and they'd met with Hal, he'd apparated to them to the atrium. In the bustle of people heading to lunch they went unnoticed as he took them on the secret elevator the end of the fireplaces, since he needed to maintain his cover and since that was easier without going to Varanian - as Hal planned for Varanian to use his appearance to escape as he was allowed to use the elevator clearly like Cel and Ron were plus if he saw either of them he could try to keep them occupied - so he'd directed them to where the interrogation rooms were. He didn't know which one Varanian was in specifically but since there was no one else being interrogated, he didn't think it would be hard to find it.

Hal had also slipped them Varanian's wand and his ring which was far more precious than Hal gave it credit for, Scorpius had held on to them as they headed off. They had to take the regular elevator to get to the right floor but no one looked at them twice, Scorpius had been feeling his stomach both twisted in excitement and nerves at the thought of it working. Once reaching the virtually empty interrogation room corridor, they'd just checked the rooms until they'd found it. Annie had stunned Harry before he'd finished turning, Hal had advised Scorpius try not do magic because of his Trace, since they already suspected he was in league with Varanian they might check it. Scorpius wasn't sure what Harry had been doing, he'd had his wand on Varanian but he wasn't movie. Annie swooped on him immediately while Scorpius dragged Harry into one of the chairs and tore of strips of Harry's robes to tie him to it, not wanting Harry to awaken and fight back. Varanian was chained down to a cot, his scars visible and speckles of gray visible in his tawny hair. His eyes tended to either be an icy blue or silvery gray but here he had one of each, both were still piercing though and looked oddly red as they darted between them.

"You can't move anything but your eyes, can you?" Annie asked and Varanian said nothing as she flicked her wand, breaking each of the chains in turn, "Can you blink? Blink if you can."

Varanian didn't blink.

"Can you move them to the side for no like shaking your head or up and down for yes like a nod?"

Varanian's eyes moved up and down.

"Glad we have communication down, Pip," Annie said with a grin and pulled out a vial, "Okay so I'm going to give you a potion that will basically shove all the potions they've got on back to your stomach not causing chaos around you, then I'm going to give you something else quickly that will make you vomit them out which should expel them from your system. It's an old fashioned way of dealing with poison since I don't know enough about this repressing stuff to counteract it, unless I made the potions wrong. Then you're just going to die."

"How encouraging!" Scorpius complained at her, Varanian moved his eyes up and down again as if to indicate agreement.

"I'm sorry, what were your brilliant plans again?" Annie complained and pulled what looked like a doll's house bucket out of her pocket and tossing it onto the floor, muttered the Enlargement Charm as she flicked her wand at it.

"Why didn't you just conjure a bucket?"

"Because I'm shit at conjuring but better with shrinking and enlarging things, we've barely started it. So are you ready, Pip?"

Varanian moved his eyes left and right.

"Good."

Without hesitation, Annie poured the first vial down his throat then had to lift his head as if to make sure he swallowed it. She pulled his limp body into a sitting position as it started to spasm slightly and his eyes rolled up into his skull, she waited a minute and Scorpius was about to complain at her taking so long when she poured the second vial down his throat much easier now he was upright. As if with planned and practiced ease, she raised the bucket and pushed his head down in time to catch the vomit that fell from his mouth. Scorpius decided now was a good time to check to see if the coast was clear, which it was. He also knew he definitely didn't want a career as a Healer. He had to look back in after a minute though, Varanian seemed to be throwing up less and was moving. His body shaking now and his eyes blinking which he took to be a good sign, finally it seemed to stop completely and his head lolled to her shoulder while a hand shakily went to his stomach.

"Okay, this should deal with the vomiting," Annie offered and tipped another vial down his throat, he coughed at it slightly and moved his head up, "How are you feeling?"

"Like absolute crap," Varanian answered hoarsely, looking ready to pass out at any moment while Annie put the bucket on the floor.

"Excellent," Annie said cheerfully as she took out the final potion, helping him to drink that, "That one's a Strengthening Solution, I'd imagine you're feeling weak after all that."

"Thank you," Varanian breathed and glanced between them, "Both of you, thank you."

"Don't thank us yet."

"You need to transform into Hal Davis, do you remember him?" Scorpius asked, eager to get out and back to safety as he stepped forward to hand Varanian his wand and ring, "We need to get going."

"Yes," Varanian nodded as he wiped his mouth on his sleeve, "We need to go to Hogwarts."

"What?!" Scorpius and Annie exclaimed in confused unison together, thinking Varanian was probably a bit out of it.

"The Shadows are attacking Hogwarts right now, we need to stop them."

"How do you know that?" Scorpius wondered, if he was right it was worrying but he wasn't sure how he could've figured that out while in captivity. After all, if the Aurors knew then they'd be out there fighting them.

"It's hunch."

"Not good enough," Annie decided with a note of finality, "You need to get back home and rest. You need rest after this. We can ring out if you're not up to apparating us from the atrium."

"The ring," Varanian said, sounding as if he'd had an epiphany as he jumped to his feet or rather staggered and Scorpius grabbed him to keep him steady on his shaking legs.

"Be careful!" Annie snapped at him as she jumped up to help steady him too, "The Strengthening Solution takes longer then a second to take effect and it can only do so much."

"Because I can apparate, I don't use it that much. The last time I did was in Hogsmeade when I saw you-" Varanian nodded his head at Scorpius, "-So it can take us right there, just a stone's throw away."

"I think Annie's right, you need to rest," Scorpius risking pointed out, Varanian was only standing with their support after all, "You're not thinking straight and in no condition to fight the Shadows today."

"If there even is an attack at all," Annie added and Varanian eyed them both irritably.

"There is dammit!" Varanian insisted, already activating the Portkey before either of them could stop him.

In the split second Scorpius experienced the now familiar sensation of swirling through space, he'd hoped they would be able to ring back to the hideout unnoticed, that Varanian would rest once he saw he was wrong. It took even less time for Scorpius to realize he was wrong, they appeared back on the street where Scorpius had seen him ring back from. It was dark despite being the middle of the day and sunny everywhere else, he could hear screams, smell smoke and see a chaotic battle raging around them.

"I told you!" Varanian scoffed triumphantly as he staggered away from their grip and slumped against a wall beside a pile of rubble that had once been... somewhere, this seemed to dawn on him while Scorpius realized he and Annie looked like themselves again for some reason, "And you may also have had a point… I did not think this through."

* * *

**Part 3: **Walking To War

* * *

Calderon didn't think he'd ever had such a sinking feel of dread as he had in that moment when he saw the night, the army and most importantly the blue light surrounding his sister. He had to do _something_. He wanted to scream in anguish, why did people in his family have to make him choose between what he thought was right and his love for them?! He waved his hand and shattered the window outwards, he left the other two behind as he leaped out and waved his hand behind to repair it. He made a sweeping motion with his arm, send out a shock wave of magic that should have knocked the approaching army back. It disintegrated in mid-air. He'd bet anything that was Sal's handiwork, he felt tears prick his eyes at the thought of confronting her.

But what choice did he have? It didn't mean having to fight her, maybe he could get her to listen to reason. He _knew_ there was still good in her. Yes, she would listen and stop this then everything would be okay. Without further hesitation, he ran towards the arm but upwards, forming magical platforms of light that he ran up with them disintegrating behind him. No one fired at him, either they feared his power or had been told not to by Sal. He hoped the latter, he made it more likely she wasn't beyond reason. He ran up to the azure light and finally stood facing his sister, standing on one of his light platforms high above the action. The figures below look like a swarm of ants attacking a sandcastle, he could also Hogsmeade which looked rather a pile of smoldering rubble and more ants were storming through there to get to Hogwarts. Wait, did ants even come in swarms?

"Incredible, isn't it?" his own voice commented and Calderon glanced at his sister for the first time.

Leila and Roman had been right, she had Polyjuiced into him. He could be looking into a mirror, except Sal was wearing black robes. Unlike him, she was floating in the air but upon seeing what he was doing, she touched her feet down on a blue platform of her own. She also grabbed the Scepter that had been hovering in front of her and used it to gesture to the chaos beneath them, the symbols carved into it along with the crystal orb were both glowing in the same azure light he associated with her.

"I think it's sad," Calderon pointed out sadly.

* * *

"Oh shit," Atticus muttered as he noticed the color bleeding out of the sky as it turned to black, hoping his kids hadn't heard.

They'd been eating lunch in his classroom because... screw Rutherford's strict mealtimes but now he saw an azure light, alerting them to the mass of figures adorned in the skeletal snake symbol and storming from the forest towards Hogwarts. The Shadows were attacking big time. In the meantime he just had to try protect the school, the students and his own children from an army. He shoved away his panic in place of the focus practiced by years as an Auror, Rutherford would be taking the students to the Room of Requirement since a requirement of that would be that no one could get in. There was no way to get a few hundred students out but hopefully they could hole up there until help arrived, his children too.

"Alright," Atticus began, turning to his kids who looked away from the window as he spoke, "I'm going to tell you something and I need you to stay calm."

"Can't it wait, Dad?" Antonius asked, "The Shadows are attacking."

"That's what I was going to say to you. And you need to try to not panic, okay?"

"We can see that."

"Why would we panic?" Cassia questioned and Atticus would've pinched the bridge of his nose if he'd had time, he had the strangest children. He didn't know whether to be proud or feel like he was failing as a father.

"Okay. I have to go try to stop them from getting into the school now," Atticus told them seriously, "What I need you to do is go to the Seventh Floor, there's a special room you can hide it."

"No."

"Yes! Cassia, you're children! You need to-"

"But I can help!" Cassia cut him off, sounding more serious than she ever had in her life, "Like I did before with the birds, I need to get to the Owlery so Avaris and I can command them. We're outnumbered by lots, you need all the help you can get and I can help, Daddy. You have to let me do this."

"We don't have time to argue about this," Antonius added.

Atticus turned away, closing his eyes and feeling his heart twist guiltily. She _could_ help though and they_ did_ need it, maybe she'd even be safer there because she could have the birds defend herself. The Owlery was out of the way at least. But she could become trapped out if Rutherford sealed the room or become a target because she was fighting, then again he wouldn't put it past Rutherford to deny his children safety as they were non-students.

"Daddy, please. I-"

"Okay," Atticus agreed and the pair looked slightly surprised, "Go to the Owlery, lock the door and do_ not_ leave. Do you understand? Stay there until I come for you."

"I'll go with her, Dad," Antonius offered and he nodded, he wasn't going to split them up and they'd have the dog with him.

"I know," Atticus assured them and pulled both his children into a tight hug, "Keep each other safe and I'll see you as soon as I can."

* * *

Tobias Latimer was eating lunch and trying to study at the same time, it wasn't uncommon amongst Seventh Years. He usually wasn't the most studious but Molly had thrown herself into that and Quidditch after Scorpius' suspension, it helped take her mind of that and her father's death so he could endure. The whole NEWTs being the last and most important exams of your life was also surprisingly infectious the closer he actually got to them, until the light suddenly went out. The students all looked up in confusion and the teachers got up to look out the window, he exchanged a worrying look with Molly from the annoyingly distant place she was at. He missed sitting with his friends at meals, although he didn't need to be near her to tell they both suspected the Shadows. They were right. He kind of wished they weren't.

"Everyone up right now, we have to move!" Rutherford announced loudly to the room as he spun back to face the hall, striding down to door, "Everyone stay calm and follow me to the Seventh Floor, I'll explain when we get there! And move as fast as you can!"

Rutherford aimed his wand at the ceiling as he exited, a siren immediately started blaring and red lights started flashing. He stood and quickly scanned his friends' seats to see who was accounted for before following after Rutherford worriedly, he hadn't seen Michael, Orous or Maurice. He rushed to keep up with Rutherford, wanting to ask him what was going on as the school and staff began the rapid ascent of the steps, the attaché hadn't been kidding about moving fast.

"What's happening, Sir?" Latimer asked as politely as he could manage, as much as he hated Rutherford he was more likely to get answers if he was civil. Rutherford made to reply but Koray got in the way.

"My son's not here!" Koray exclaimed anxiously, looking somewhere between terrified and angry, "And there's other students missing as well, not everyone stayed for your stupid strict meal times! I'm going to find him-"

"No!" Rutherford barked and Koray's expression was tortured, "We have to stick together, Hogwarts is massive. We don't have time to go searching everywhere for your son and any others missing, we get the students here to the safe room and work on protecting the school until the Auror reinforcements arrive. They were fast last time so they should be here soon, maybe with enough people we can start searching for any unaccounted for but right now it's a waste for you to run off alone. Unless he was outside, the best way to protect him is to keep protecting the Hogwarts."

"And if he was outside?" Koray questioned quietly and fearfully as Ashain joined them from his floor.

"There's no hope for anyone who was outside."

"What is going on?!" Latimer blurted out desperate now for answers, Koray looked on the verge of tears but kept walking. Rutherford made to answer again but was again stopped, this time by the 'Headmaster' Elwood rushing from one of the corridors out of breath.

"The Floo Network's down!" Elwood exclaimed breathlessly, "I tried to Floo out to make sure it was possible because I thought we could have the students start Flooing out but it's not working, I tried several different places and nothing! Not even just my head to get a message out! Can't apparate either, even when I took the spells down it didn't work. We can't get the students out."

"I expected as much, it was like this in Hogsmeade," Rutherford pointed out, somewhat darkly, "We'll just have to fight to defend the students."

"How are we supposed to do that?! I'm terrible at defensive magic, I could never stun and I don't even remember the Disarming... Was it a jinx?! We'll be dead before the Aurors arrive! We can't stop an army!"

"Well luckily not everyone is as incompetent as you."

"I'll fight," Latimer offered, piecing together what was going down and Rutherford looked as if something had occurred to him.

"Yes. We can ask for student volunteers to help fight as well, that should even out the numbers a bit."

"Did you even look at the numbers?!" Elwood shrieked at him and actually started crying, "I'm the worst Headmaster ever, the students are all going to die!"

"Have a little faith. Right, Astor?"

"I don't really care," Koray croaked and Rutherford rolled his eyes, Latimer felt concerned for his friends and the others not with them but he kind of agreed with Rutherford as much as he hated to say it, "My son might be dead already if he was outside. With his lungs, he's not even going to be able to move very fast."

"You people are hopeless," Rutherford complained as they reached the familiar corridor on the Seventh Floor, except this time it was Rutherford walking up and down to access the Room That Doesn't Exist. He jabbed his wand in the air, activating a siren and flashing lights that he had to yell over, "Alright! Everyone inside!"

* * *

Maurice's eyes took in the scene below him, the blue light in the sky he attributed to the Shadow Master and the army storming from the forest. Then he noticed smaller figures, students who had decided to enjoy the sunshine during their lunch break who were trying to get back to the castle. Without hesitation, he ran to help them. After all, normal students wouldn't stand a chance. But he wasn't normal.

"There's students still outside, I have to help them!" Maurice called as explanation to Lenore, not knowing and not having time to see what she thought of all this.

He reached the entrance and rushed out to face the army as they fired spells - luckily nonlethal ones - at the students running for the door, he weaved a complicated motion with his wand to cause the ground in front of the army to rise up and simultaneously transfigure into stone. It wouldn't last forever but it would take a brunt of the hits, enough time to get the kids inside. He turned his attention to helping the children, reviving those stunned and helping up those with minor injuries. It was only as he started to do that that he realized Lenore was by his side doing the same, he risked putting a hand to his necklace.

"You're helping?" Maurice questioned feeling somewhat surprised and proud, he'd like to shove this moment in Rose's face next time she called Lenore selfish and cowardly for being a Slytherin.

_I wouldn't be a very good Head Girl or Prefect if I didn't_, Lenore answered with a shrug as all but two slow moving children made it back into the castle, _Since they're my responsibility and all. You might want to be careful, the wall sounds like its cracking_

"Hurry up!"

As they got close enough though, Maurice recognized them as the two James had attacked. Pollux Koray was struggling to breathe which was making him struggle to walk, Byron Knight was just trying to help his friend. Pollux actually looked about to collapse, Maurice thought it would be faster to carry him. It would impede his ability to do spells but they did only have to get into Hogwarts, the door was just a few feet away. It was hard to see though, the only light was the eerie azure one coming from the Shadow Master and his wall was blocking that partially. Still, the darkness was his friend as it would impede the enemy as well.

"Hold on to me," Maurice told him and turned his back to the boy, crouching so he could put his arms around Maurice's neck.

He then stood and grabbed Pollux's legs up, he thought it was called piggybacking. It didn't matter as he could know run the distance to the door with the other two, Maurice was slower than usual but it was still faster than Pollux walking unaided. Byron was about as fast and Lenore was faster, reaching the door before them but not going in. She was scowling and he did too as he reached her, she was waving her wand at the door in the motion of the Unlocking Spell. Maurice went to yank it open but it was still locked, they must have sealed the door without either knowing or caring about them still outside.

"Wrap your legs around my stomach so that my wand is free," Maurice commanded of Pollux who obeyed and he blasted the door with a powerful Blasting Curse.

They'd also reinforced the door apparently as it didn't work, he doubted they'd done as much to the walls but that would compromise Hogwarts' security and theirs if they made it inside. Assuming they hadn't tried to protect the walls, maybe they had. They would need somewhere to hole up to think of a plan to get back inside with Pollux weighing them down, somewhere in the grounds. Hagrid's Hut was too close to the forest the enemy was coming from, the Quidditch Pitch didn't have much coverage, the Whomping Willow was too surrounded by enemies but the Greenhouses would be good.

He noticed Lenore raising her wand behind him and spun in time to see the jet of green light strike the first soldier to break through his wall, he hadn't expected Lenore to kill and felt oddly impressed by this. He flicked his wand and uprooted his wall, causing it to fall backwards on whatever unfortunate soldiers were on the front lines and too stupid to blast a hole to safe themselves. From several mini-explosions, he thought some had but still not that much. The Shadows didn't seem to care though, climbing onto the fallen wall and running over it without caring that they were crushing their possibly still alive comrades beneath it.

"To the Greenhouses!" Maurice hissed at his group

Maurice raised his wand again but found the soldiers were distracted anyway as a wave of birds soared down upon them. Owls raining down, pecking at eyes or hands and tearing out throats with their feet, some carrying off wands. A wave of birds was also rising from the forest and he noticed a yellow light was now hear the Shadow Master's blue, he made a mental note to thank Cassia the next time he saw her. They took full advantage of the distraction, racing to the Greenhouses and firing up shields and spells to cover themselves anyway although Byron had a pathetically limited spell capacity it seemed.

They made it though and Maurice led them to the one furthest away, glad to let Pollux down. To his surprise the boy practically collapsed, falling to the ground and leaning back against one of the tables holding pots pressed up against the glass wall. His first thought was that the boy had been struck by a spell but he didn't look hurt, he just looked like he couldn't breathe and clutched at his lungs. His ashen face in pain.

* * *

August Longbottom was petrified as he trudged along with the crowd out of the Great Hall, he kept his face blank though to hide the fear he was ashamed of. He wasn't stupid, from the way the adults reacted he knew they were either under attack or about to be. He meandered his way through the crowd looking for his friends or family, noticing his father didn't follow them up the stairs but urged a few students who'd ran in to. He found Hugo and Lorcan through.

"Where do you think they're taking us?" Lorcan was asking with a severe expression and a dark glint in his amber eyes, his wand in his hand as usual, "If the Shadows are attacking then I'm not hiding, I want to fight."

"I have no idea," Hugo admitted nervously, scratching his bushy red hair to which Lorcan gave a derisive snort.

"Neither do I," August added and the pair noticed him.

"What about you?" Lorcan wondered as Lily pushed her way through to them, "Have you seen Maurice? He'd be fighting this but I can't see him. He's probably in the thick of it, I want to join him."

"Haven't seen him."

"Have you seen Orous?" Lily questioned anxiously now as she pushed her glasses back up her nose, "I didn't see him at lunch and I don't see him now."

"He wasn't at lunch," Hugo informed her with a worried expression and Lily bit her lip, "I don't know where he is."

"We should find Vern, he might know," Lily decided and started squeezing her way through the crowd, August tried not to feel irritated as they followed after her. He didn't know why as he liked Orous well enough, he just didn't like Lily dating him. Not that he'd ever say a word against it.

"-Orous could be anywhere!" a girl's voice was hissing as they found Vern up ahead of them, he recognized her vaguely as Olivia Nott, Vern's girlfriend.

"Exactly!" Vern snapped in reply, "He's my best friend, I'm not going to just leave him while we stomp on to safety. Michael and Maurice weren't at lunch either, I have to find my friends."

"Leave it to the adults, you nearly died last time!"

"The adults are focused on protecting the school, not looking for straggler students. Students who won't even know to go to the Seventh Floor," Vern explained and sighed, "I have to look for them."

"You can't just go alone, Vern, please!"

"If you're looking for my boyfriend then I'll come," Lily volunteered and somehow August wasn't surprised.

"If my cousin's going I'm going," Hugo stated protectively.

"I'll go," Lorcan added without hesitation, seeming almost eager and August thought it had more to do with the thought of fighting Shadows then with finding people.

"I kind of agree with Olivia, it's not safe," August muttered awkwardly twiddling with his thumbs... The last time Hogwarts had been attacked, his brother had died. The last time they'd been attacked by Shadows, they'd almost died. Was he the only one who realized that or was he just the only one who feared one of them dying? "We're just kids. Not even OWL or NEWT level."

"Then you and Olivia stay."

"No," Olivia sighed, "I'll go with you. But as soon as we find them, we go back with the others?"

"Deal," Vern agreed and gave his girlfriend a grateful smile, "The next corridor we can slip down it, search there and do the other floors when the other students aren't on the stairs anymore."

"This is our stop then," Lorcan pointed out as they reached the sixth floor, the five of them scuttled down and August hated himself as he went after them. He couldn't just walk away to safety when his friends would be out risking their lives.

"Wait for me," August said regretfully as he followed, he had an even worse feeling then before.

* * *

Latimer stood by Rutherford - he still hated him but clearly he was in charge of what was going on - as everyone filled the room, Rutherford either didn't notice him or didn't seem to mind. When Molly tried to wait with him, she was urged angrily inside by him though. He kept an eye out for familiar faces, he for certain didn't see any of his missing friends and there were a few others unaccounted for that he knew which unfortunately included Byron and his friend the professor's son. Most of the teachers waited outside as well, some obvious exceptions being Midas, Rivers and the Librarian. Some were also absent, Longbottom, Kresmir, Grant and Calderon. Only after all the students were inside did the adults and Latimer enter, Koray buried his face in his hands.

"Alright students!" Rutherford called to the huddled mass, the Room was massive enough to fit them all easily now and looked rather dull and bland but the siren was out of earshot in the room. The hundreds of faces looked at Rutherford fearfully, "In case you are wondering why this is happening, I regret to inform you that Hogwarts is under attack from the Shadows but do not fear for you are safe here. This is called the Room of Requirement and since our Requirement is for it not be found by Shadows, you'll be safe here. Some of the staff will stay here with you to protect you as added security while the rest of us fend them off until the Aurors arrive."

"What about people who weren't at lunch?" a voice that sounded like Albus called out.

"When the Aurors get here, there will hopefully be enough manpower to scour the castle for stragglers. Please try not to worry if your friends or family are not here, the Shadows have yet to breach the castle so us going to fight them off now will protect them more than us wasting time searching and neglecting our defenses," Rutherford answered without skipping a beat, "I know not everyone here will be a star duelist, some people's talents lie in different areas so if you are not a hundred percent confident in your abilities or are not a hundred percent willing to risk yourself then do not feel obligated to agree to this. But as we are grievously outnumbered, I am opening it up that anyone Fifth Year or above who want to join us in fighting off the Soul Eater army can. If you are interested then follow the staff out now, all staff please so we can discuss who stays."

"Fifth Years is a bit young, isn't it?" Elwood complained but Rutherford shrugged as a fair amount of students started filing out with the staff, Rivers was shaking with fright.

"They're good enough for OWLs, some losers even drop out after them."

"Grozda, you are staying here to be safe," Krum decided for his daughter with a note of finality, patting on the shoulder as he left with the others.

"I said Fifth Years and above!" Rutherford snapped as Corin exited, holding his girlfriend's hand.

"I've had an extra two years training in Beauxbatons, I believe that makes up for the extra year," Corin stated stiffly, "I did well in the dueling tournaments we have there, I have experience."

"Fine, I'll make exception for you and Maurice Rivers."

"He's not here."

"What about Carver Edwards?"

"Also not here," Roxy Weasley pointed out, being in his year she sat in his area of the table even though the two weren't friends. Molly had also joined them, so had Abby, Albus, Rose, Kyle Nott's younger brother in Fifth Year and Byron's younger brother, Abby's boyfriend Sequoia Pentakel and his older sister Mirra. Other people too but he didn't really know their names if he recognized them at all, most of the prefects were there and he thought the ones who weren't were missing like Michael.

"Doesn't anyone have lunch," Rutherford rolled his eyes and surveyed the group, "Alright so Midas, Elwood, Marigold, Rivers, Elina and Horatio, you can wait with the students. You're either too talentless, too scared, blind or too old to be of use. No offense, Horatio."

"None taken," the ancient looking Librarian brushed it off, "I couldn't keep up but if anyone gets in, I'll die fighting."

"I'm staying," Marigold announced as the others indicated headed into the Room.

"You're useless at defensive magic, you're too pathetic to conjure a Patronus," Rutherford snapped at him immediately but Marigold didn't flinch.

"Maybe so but I can heal and I reckon people fighting will need healing more than those in safety."

"Fine," Rutherford agreed begrudgingly and eyed the remaining few, apparently no one else bothered by his leadership, "Viktor and Hagrid, if you'd stay also. In case the Shadows do get through, I want some people with some talent or strength here to defend the students. Seal the door behind you and any students with doubts, head back in now."

"Alright," Krum agreed and Hagrid gave his son a hug in farewell, Corin didn't hug him back.

"Can I say goodbye to my kids?" Oring questioned hopefully as the other two went back in along with only one Slytherin girl who changed their mind.

"No," Rutherford barked and turned on his heel, Oring hung his head sadly as the door closed behind them, "The rest of you come on, there's no time to waste. We walk to war."

* * *

**Part 4: **Different Paths

* * *

"You think it's sad to have power?" Sal wondered of him and rolled her eyes, "Of course _you_ would."

"I think it's more sad how you're using it," Calderon pointed out.

"You think it's sad that I'm proving myself to our parents by succeeding where even Father failed? You think it's sad I'm making the world a better place?" Sal questioned before holding up her free hand as he went to protest, "Okay I know it doesn't look like it now but the world is a terrible place, the only way to make it better is if I'm controlling it and the only way to that is with force."

"What about all the people you're killing?! How is better for _them_?!"

"Eh, sacrifices. They were probably horrible people anyway," Sal brushed it off while he put a hand to his face, "Don't be like this, Tommy, I always intended for you to join me. I've decided to forgive you for your betrayal."

"_My_ betrayal?" Tommy wondered in confusion as to what he'd done when she was the one trying to destroy the world.

"Yes, your betrayal," Sal insisted in a darker tone, "You've done nothing but try to stop me, whatever happened to you and me against the world, brother?"

"That didn't mean for us to destroy it!" Tommy or Calderon shot out fiercely, whoever he was now, "Whatever happened to just wanting freedom?!"

"You denied us our freedom, Tommy! You denied us that chance when you let Rodolphus live that time when we teenagers!" Sal yelled back at him, "I told you I'd find a way to be free no matter and this is the way to do it!"

"We already have freedom though, you don't _need_ to do this," Tommy/Calderon pleaded with her, "I have a life here in Hogwarts now, if you just gave the world a chance then you could be a part of too and have your own life."

"You call _this_ a life?!" Sal shrieked at him, looking genuinely shocked, "Hiding who you are? Pretending to be someone else? Pretending to be someone you're not? This isn't a life, you gave up your life."

"I just... choose a new life," he offered lamely, he had been struggling with having to keep his true identity recently so he _could_ see her point. But it wasn't as bad as she made it out to be, "I'm happy."

"If you walked into the Grand Hall one day and said 'I am Tommy Riddle, the son of Voldemort' then everyone there would turn on you, whatever friends you had or bonds you feel would be broken. At least the people closest to me _know_ who I am, the people closest to you don't care for you at all but just this illusion of you. They would turn on you, you'd be arrested, assaulted, tortured, and locked up yet again. And for what? For the crimes of your father, they'd only see you in his shadow not care about the good you've done."

"I know but its okay."

"How is that freedom, Tommy?" Sal asked of him, quite curiously and quite calmly, "You're still imprisoned, trapped in your illusion. That's not freedom, you're still a prisoner."

"That's just the way the world is. That's the way it has to be," Tommy/Calderon pointed out.

"No it doesn't! I refuse to live that, I want to be free. I want to be_ truly_ free!" Sal yelled at him, "And since that's how the world is, I just have to change it! Change it so that I can say who I am and be what I am, change it so that I can step out of the shadows without the risk of losing my freedom and being locked up again! And the only way to do that, dear brother, is to break down the unjust, unfair and misguided system of the world in order to rebuild it better! Wizards won't be trapped by their own statue of secrecy and we won't be prosecuted just for the blood we were born with!"

"And you'll rule this new world, Sal?"

"Yes!" Sal insisted with a nod, "It's the only way to be truly free! To control the world is the only way to ensure it won't go wrong, to be the most powerful person in the world is the only way to make sure no one can ever take me prisoner and lock me up ever again! I told you I won't be a prisoner, I'm never going to back to the hell our childhood was. My way is the only way we'll ever truly be free."

* * *

Rutherford led the group hurriedly back down the stairs, faces ranging between determined and nervous. Marigold stopped in the Hospital Wing to pick up supplies and a few helped carry the potions down with him. Once at the entrance, it was obvious that they were right about the attack. Latimer could hear them outside, feel the vibrations from the spells being fired and even see the door shaking. The missing professors were already there, wands aimed in readiness to face whoever entered.

"Neville, why didn't you use the _Piertotum Locomotor _spell like I asked?" Rutherford barked at their Herbology professor.

"None of us could get it to work," Grant offered as explanation, "I think the Shadow Master cast a spell to stop it like how they're stopping apparation and the Floo Network."

"Well he is Voldemort's son," Ashain pointed out, "He's not an idiot, he probably knew that happened during the Battle of Hogwarts and is prepared for it."

Rutherford nodded to indicate he'd heard and started lining the students up in rows behind the staff but slightly angled so they all still had a clear view and shot of the door, everyone but Marigold having moved to the front to join the other staff at the door while the Healer was sent behind everyone else. The younger Fifth Years and a handful of older students who looked the most nervous were sent to the stairs, Latimer could hear him telling them to attack from above or if they got past and urging Marigold under the stairs as much as possible. Latimer was right at the front beside Molly.

"Do you the Aurors have arrived yet and that's what's slowing them down?" Neville asked of no one in particular to an assortment of vague shrugs before Rutherford returned to them.

"Alright, students," Rutherford addressed them as he drew his own wand, to his credit at least he intended to fight and was at the front not hiding like a coward, "When they break through that door, if you can then I want you to stun and if you can't stun then why did you volunteer? If you get injured, go to the back so Marigold can see to you."

* * *

"What's wrong with him?" Maurice complained of Byron, jerking his head at Pollux and putting a hand to his necklace.

_We were by the lake when it dark, ran all the way back when we spotted them coming from the forest_, Byron explained looking anxious as Lenore started inspecting the plants idly, _His lungs are damaged. I think it was too much for him_

_Just. Leave. Me_, Pollux stated, pain still engraved onto his face,_ I'm only. Slowing. You down. Leave me. I'm. Dead. Anyway_

_We're not leaving you, Pol_

_I can't. Even. Breathe_

_I'm working on that,_ Lenore's words appeared out of the corner of his eye, _Knight, how's your Herbology. I could use some help scouring these plants_

_Why_, Byron wondered.

_Because I can make a potion to help him breathe with the raw ingredients from here, we can move faster if his breathing is normalized and find a way back into the castle_

"You're so sexy when you're planning war things," Maurice assured his girlfriend with a smile to which Lenore laughed before he kissed her, "I'll hold them off, they'll adapt to getting through Cassia's birds eventually."

_Are sex and violent all you ever think about_

"Not all I think about," Maurice complained as Byron went over to help her search for ingredients while she conjured a cauldron, "If he can breathe we can try get through them at an easier pace to get back into the castle, it's only a matter of time before they breach it anyway."

_Boathouse_, Pollux seemed to gasp, his eyes semi-closed now.

"What?"

_Get in. Hogwarts. Boathouse_

"That could also work," Maurice admitted with a nod as he recalled you get it into Hogwarts through there, they were closer to the lake then the enemy and they likely wouldn't be using it, "But for now I'll be outside."

* * *

"Now what?" Scorpius asked anxiously, thinking of his friends in Hogwarts.

"I don't know," Varanian offered and rubbed his eyes while Annie put her hair clips back in, "I did not think this through."

"You're not doing anything other than Portringing back to the thing and resting," Annie complained at him sharply, "We can figure out a way to save Michael and chase off the Shadows without you."

"I'm not leaving in the middle of a war zone!" Varanian protested incredulously but his legs had stopped shaking at least.

"You're in no condition to be in the middle of a warzone!"

"I'm feeling better!"

"This is my rescue mission to save you so go home and be saved!" Annie yelled at him determinedly, jabbing her finger as if directing a dog. Scorpius saw both their points but he'd rather Varanian stay and help, he seemed stable enough and at the very least he could think of a plan first as Scorpius had no idea how to get rid of an army.

"The answer is no! Look around we have bigger concerns," Varanian insisted and gestured to the main street were figures emblazoned with an azure skeletal snake symbol marched by, attacking - thankfully stunning - people who got in their way. Annie went silent but continued eying him murderously, "I'm alright, the rest of the world isn't so let's focus on the army storming by and how to get rid of them."

"We should get to Hogwarts," Scorpius spoke up, again thinking of his friends, "It's where the Shadows are going after all."

"I agree," Annie nodded, "We can help fight them off... And make sure Michael is okay."

"Three people aren't going to make that much of a difference!" Varanian protested, "Even with just these here you can see Hogwarts will be overwhelmed eventually, with or without us."

"Then what do you propose we do?" Scorpius wondered worriedly.

"I don't know, I need a better sense of what's going on. We can barely see anything here let alone a sense of where the battle stands," Varanian pointed out, which was quite true as the only light was coming from the soldiers passing the alleyway by and the small passage was surrounded by walls and rubble anyway.

"On it._ Lumos_\- agh!" Annie said and waved her wand, holding it in front of her face so when it lit up it nearly blinded her and she had to turn her head away.

"Why do you always do that?!" Varanian complained, yanking her wand arm down away from her face and rolling his eyes.

The light had drawn the unwanted attention of the passing soldiers though, they turned down the alley but Scorpius had fired a non-verbal stunner before he'd finished taking a step. Scorpius felt a slight surge of pride as it struck and the Shadow crumpled to the ground. Varanian also apparently noticed and magically levitated part of the wall beside them, he threw it in the direction of the main street at the Shadows who had made to follow their friend. Annie led them through the gap Varanian had made in the wall with her lit up wand, Varanian aimed his wand at the ground and Scorpius wondered why for a second before seeing he'd conjured shoes for his bare feet. It was a good idea considering the rubble they crossed into, loose stones and bricks were scattered amongst bits of twisted metal, roof tiles and jagged shards of glass.

He also waved his wand over the worn out prison robes to something more substantial than blasted the wall they'd come from, voices crying out indicating the Shadows had again tried to follow. Annie launched through the ruined building while they followed blindly, quite literally as she was the only one of them with light coming from her wand. They dived and ducked randomly through ruined homes and shops, darting down streets and weaving through the cobbled streets. Scorpius had no idea where she was taking them, especially since she'd never actually been to Hogsmeade before but after a minute it dawned on him as he noticed they seemed to be going uphill. She was trying to get Varanian a good view of the town. Shadows were still storming through the streets, stunning those they came across and dueling those who actually fought back. They seemed to be trying to be non-lethal though, he and Varanian occasionally stunned the Shadows in the back in passing but otherwise stayed out of it. Until Scorpius saw an unexpectedly familiar face: Leebin's wife, Myriam.

* * *

Latimer was barely blinking, breathe bated as he watched the door. Waiting. He had his wand in hand as they all had, his sweaty palms gripping the handle in readiness. Second dragged by like hours, you could cut the tension in the air with a spell. Not a word was spoken in the semi-silence, the only sound was from outside as the Shadows clamored to get in and the door shook. Without warning, it exploded and took a good chunk of wall with it. The Soul Eaters stormed in, met by a barrage of stunners - from Latimer included - that were hard to defend against when moving. There was more though. The battle was on.

* * *

"Please, Sal, stop this," Tommy/Calderon pleaded desperately, even taking a step forward, "This isn't the way."

"This is the only way," Sal insisted, sounding absolutely serious before holding out her hand, "Join me."

"I'm not going to help you destroy the world," Tommy/Calderon told truthfully, tears welling in his eyes as he turned away.

"It will be better in the end! Haven't you been listening?!" Sal snapped at him and her expression softened, "You don't even _have_ to do anything, you can stay in Athens and just wait until it's over."

"I can't just wait until it's over."

"Isn't that what you're basically doing?" Sal questioned and he glanced back to her, "If you're not helping me and you're not hurting me, you're just doing nothing."

"Hogwarts is my home," Calderon whimpered.

"There won't be a Hogwarts soon. Why should others get to go when we didn't?" Sal pointed out and the weight of the situation struck him again, the tears trickled down his face, "I still love you, you're still my brother, my twin. I want you to be on my side, to be part of the new world, to be part of my life. Do you even know I have children now?"

"No, I do not," Tommy admitted with a bittersweet feeling welling in his gut for his nieces or nephews, "Is this really the kind of world you want to bring them up in? A world of war?"

"This war will be long enough by the time they're old enough to be a part of it, they'll live like the Kings they are. In peace. Without the threat of being killed for existing that they face now."

"They can live a normal life just as good here, go to Hogwarts like we never did. No one knows who you are, Sal, you could just drop this and start fresh," Tommy/Calderon urged her but noticed the unwavering expression, "Please, you can be normal and happy still. Just give it a chance, it's nice, people are nice."

"I told you it's a lie, I won't be trapped in an illusion, I won't be trapped ever again," Sal scoffed determinedly before gesturing around her, "And drop this? You really think I'd have gotten this far if I wasn't committed to this? I can't just back out, tell everyone we give up and to go home."

"Yes you can! You can do anything you want!" Tommy screamed at her as more tears flew from his eyes, realizing with each passing sentence how far apart they were and he could see in her eyes she saw the same.

"This is what I want."

"You don't have to do this, there's a better way. You can just be normal."

"We're not normal, Tommy, we're communicating in Parseltongue now," Sal pointed out with a shine of tears in her eyes, Calderon realized she was right and wasn't sure when that shift had occurred. He also noticed blue and yellow lights were swirling chaotically around them both, "We're special. I can be great, isn't that what you always said?"

"I didn't mean like this, Sal!" Tommy cried tearfully and felt his heart wrenching painfully as he met his twin's eyes, "You're never going to stop."

"And you're never going to join me," Sal realized at the same time, blinking and a tear rolled down her cheek before they both looked away in opposing directions.

_"We'll always be together though, won't we?" Tommy asked worriedly, scared at the thought of them getting split up in the big wide world._

_"Of course we will, Tommy," Sal assured him with a smile that he returned in relief, "We're twins, we'll always be together no matter what. Even if it's just us against the world then we'd still be standing side by side."_

_"Good," Tommy breathed happily, he couldn't imagine a situation where they'd ever not be on the same side and he was glad of that._

A disheartening revelation crept upon him, he never would join Sal. As much as he loved his twin, what she was doing was wrong and he would have no part of it. No matter what. And the same was reversed, Sal wasn't going to stop regardless of what she felt for him. It didn't matter they were twins, it didn't matter they had a bond. They'd created their own paths, it was too late to walk along the same one. But worse than that, their paths intersected again but only one could continue. There was only one world, it couldn't be destroyed and saved at the same time. He glanced at Sal, despite the Polyjuice to create the mirror image of himself he saw her as she had been in their childhood. For the first time he truly wished with every fiber of his being that they were back in Azkaban, back with the Death Eaters. Any kind of suffering if at least they were together.

_"We'll always be together though, won't we Tommy?" Sal asked worriedly._

_"Of course we will, Sal," Tommy promised and attempted a smile that she returned, "We're twins, we'll always be together no matter what. Even if it's just us against the world then we'd still be standing side by side."_

"I'll always love you, Sal," Tommy/Calderon breathed, his eyes stinging from the tears as their gazes locked once more, "I wish things hadn't turned out this way but... but I _can't_ let you do this."

"I feel the same," Sal admitted quietly and gave him a slight smile, "Funny, isn't it? How we can be similar yet so different."

* * *

**Part 5: **Duty

* * *

Maurice walked out through the center of the greenhouses, spotting the soldiers already surging through with bloody eyes and necks but Cassia was clearly directing the birds on the main hoard. He wasn't afraid, on the contrary he was almost excited as he waited for them to draw closer. He wondered what that said about him. Was it adrenaline? Or was it because he was a monster? Was it because he'd been raised to be a soldier? Or was it because he was Alzay's son? The mother he'd barely met but took after by all accounts.

They came within spell distance but not close enough for proper aim, he held his ground and simply dodged the sloppy firing without fighting back. He waited as they came close enough that their aim improved enough that he had to put too much effort into avoiding, then he slashed his wand murderously. He was deaf to the sounds of the greenhouse glass either side of them shattering simultaneously into dangerous shards at his command, they heard it though and barely had time to look to the possibly earsplitting sound.

The glass hurtled towards them like a thousand knives being thrown from either side, slicing viciously into his foe. They'd been taken off guard after all and it was hard to defend themselves from attacks coming from the side, especially when they were wedged together as they tried to storm through. Bloody bodies crumpled to the ground, either dead, dying or injured. He saw the more distant next line of attackers looking somewhat nervous but they started to clamber over their comrades after him anyway, he again had to start dodging spells.

He waited until they were just reaching the fallen line of bodies before jerking his wand violently upwards, the glass embedded in the first wave shot straight up. Who ever thought to defend themselves from below? More bodies dropped like a wave of flies and he noticed some survivors of the first wave trying to pull themselves out, he methodically fired Killing Curses at any movement. There was no mercy in war. The next wave started scrambling over, Maurice flicked his wand behind to shatter the greenhouses further back including the one Lenore and the others were in.

He very carefully raised his wand back up, raising the glass safely into the sky away to hopefully ensure it hadn't hurt his girlfriend or the Second Years. He tried to dodge the spells being fired at him but they were closer now, a jet of light caught his left upper arm and felt as if a blade had sliced through it. He gritted his teeth through the pain and sent the hail of glass hurtling down upon his foes.

* * *

Byron was still quite surprised they were alive, they'd been late to lunch due to Pol not being able to move quickly which meant no lunch due to Rutherford's strict mealtimes. They'd gone outside instead, Byron had been hoping the sunshine would cheer Pol up because he only seemed to get more depressed while Byron was starting to do better. Without worrying about James every second, he could focus on his classwork now and was quite proud of his improvement, Ashain said he had even said that morning that he had the best Disarming Charm in the class. They'd just been sitting there, dangling their feet in the water and skimming stones as they had no classes on Friday afternoons anyway. Until the sky had gone dark and the Shadows had started pouring out, attempting to run back to Hogwarts had proved to be too much for Pol's lungs.

Despite Pol urging him to leave him behind and save himself, he hadn't. Pol had never abandoned him after all. He'd still thought they'd both probably die and not make it in time until Lenore and Maurice had stepped in, he owed them their lives and now they were still trying to save them. Lenore had conjured a cauldron and he'd helped her gather the last ingredients she wanted, Maurice was still outside fighting as she worked on it. She, Byron and Pol were sitting on the ground staying low, especially after an explosive bang that Lenore guessed had been them getting into Hogwarts. He hoped James wasn't in the Shadows' army, considering the kind of person he was Byron thought it more likely he'd joined them instead of being kidnapped by them. Byron swallowed fearfully at that thought, he was still having nightmares of James coming back.

"Okay, this should just about do it," Lenore offered and Byron tore his eyes away from his friend's labored breathing to look at the Head Girl. His heart hadn't stopped pounding.

"You think?" Byron wondered worriedly as he bit his lip, Pol was not doing so good. Beads of sweat were forming on his brow, his face was a mask of pain and every rattling breath sounded like torture.

"My uncle's good with potions and he taught me everything he knew," Lenore told him as she conjured a cup to scoop up some of the purple liquid, "Trust me when I say, this is easy. We don't have time to brew a stronger version but this should do the trick."

"Okay," Byron nodded as Lenore tilted Pol's head forwards, his eyes flickered open weakly as she brought the cup to his lips to make him drink. There was a crash outside, spell fire and screams were prominent sounds, "Do you think Maurice is alright?"

"Yes."

"You're really not worried about your boyfriend fighting off an army by himself?" Byron wondered as she finished giving Pol the potion, she let his head fall back against the table and moved away.

"I'd be more worried_ for_ them if I were you," Lenore brushed it off as Pol's breathing started to ease and the pain on his face faded, when he opened his eyes this time they were stronger, "How are you feeling?"

"Breathing easier and my lungs aren't on fire anymore," Pol shrugged before looking down sadly, "You're wasting your time though, we won't be able to make it anywhere quickly before I drag us back again. Just leave me. I can try hold them off and you three get away."

"That's just stupid, you're a Second Year. You wouldn't last a minute."

"Maybe not but at least I'd die doing something useful instead of being the reason three more died, I'm done for anyway."

"Pol!" Byron protested, "No you're not and we're not leaving you!"

"Now is not the time to have a personal crisis, come on," Lenore complained at him as stood, helping Pol to his feet and Byron followed suit, "I didn't waste my time saving you to leave you behind now, I take my Head Girl responsibilities very seriously. I'm going to take you to the boathouse then go back for my boyfriend and we can all get back into the castle, _all_ of us."

* * *

"Not these birds again," Sal sighed and gestured with the Scepter to the battle below them, Calderon seeing birds bearing down on the mass of black cloaked figures, "Honestly, must I do everything myself?"

She jabbed the Scepter in the direction of the Owlery and a pulse of azure light shot out, he tried to throw up a shield to block it but for the first time in his life his power flat out wasn't enough. The blue pulse shattered it as if it were nothing and kept on, slamming into the building. There was a rumbling as the tower crumpled, he tried to magically hold it up but Sal batted the Scepter and his power was obliterated. The Owlery went down like a sandcastle being kicked over.

"NO!" Calderon screamed frightfully, blinking back tears. He had to act.

He swallowed, he could only hope Sal was wrong about the place Cassia was directing the birds from. It did made him realize how unevenly matched they were with that thing, she'd broken his enchantments before as if they were nothing. The last time they'd fought a few years ago, it had been more even but the Scepter was going to make it nigh impossible. Childishly, he swiped his hand out to try grabbing it but Sal simply jerked it. There was a flash of azure light and he was flung violently back through the air, he slammed up another platform of light to stop him plunging to the ground below.

"Must we really do this, Tommy?" Sal complained at him tiredly, "I have my weakest soldiers here, none of the extras and I'm not even _trying_ right now. I'm more powerful than you."

Tommy wasn't going to give up that easily, he scrambled to his feet with a pulse of pure magical energy already shooting towards her but she again made a slight gesture and it disintegrated. Sal gave it the slightest of flicks and he was sent flying again, again putting up a platform that he collided with before he could start to fall. He had to get the Scepter off her, maybe then she'd just call it a day? What had Leila been saying about it? That it would come to him because he wasn't disguising himself with Polyjuice or something like that anyway.

Feeling rather foolish, he stood and held out his hand. Sal flinched as if expecting an attack but he didn't, instead he willed the Scepter to his hands. There was a loud thrum and to both Riddles surprise, the scepter detached itself from her grip and shot towards him with the light from it now turning emerald. Sal held out with her hand with a look of intense concentration and the Scepter stopped, hovering in midair halfway between them both. She slowly closed her hand and the Scepter slowly started inching itself back to her, he stretched out his hand further and more forcefully willed it to him.

"To me!" Tommy/Calderon yelled at the Scepter as if it could hear him, "_I_ am the son of Voldemort!"

The Scepter lurched and Sal almost seemed to topple forwards as the Scepter shot back towards him, throwing itself into his open palm. His hand closed around it and there was a blinding flash of yellow light, the symbols lighting up yellow and the orb now glowing with the same yellow light. _His_ yellow light that was swirling violently around him now. And the power. He felt it flooding through him, magic surging through every fiber of his being. It felt incredible, the euphoria caused his maniacal high-pitched laughter to echo through the forced night.

* * *

"Wands out," Lenore added as they left the relative safety of the now windowless greenhouse.

Byron and Pol obeyed as they followed her, not towards the battle but in the opposite direction towards the cliff overlooking the lake. She flicked her wand before being distracted by something that didn't go unnoticed by them either, on the other side of the castle where the ground sloped down there were Shadows, visible by the light of their own lit up wands. They weren't just standing around idly though, they were turning the water to ice to walk across to get to the boathouse. Evidently, they'd had the same idea.

Lenore's - actually quite beautiful - face clouded over darkly and she waved her wand again, the ice melted in an instant and the cloaked figures were plunged into the water. Vaguely, Byron noticed a barely visible boat meandering its way out of the entrance and towards them but mostly he was focused on Lenore's actions. Quite methodically, she stunned each of the defenseless figures treading water so they all went limp and the lights from their wands faded as the magical sticks sank from their owner's fingers.

"Won't they die?" Byron whispered fearfully.

"Yes," Lenore said quietly back as the boat halted below them, looking remorseful, "But they'll attack us and get into the castle if I don't. They're the enemy and they chose to attack a school filled with children, they brought this upon themselves and we can't take chances. Inside they'll be having a hard enough time holding back the Shadows without surprise attacks from behind."

"I understand," Pol nodded solemnly and Byron thought of his brother still inside the castle, he didn't really like it but he supposed it made sense. What were they supposed to do? Save the people trying to kill them all? "Do you think my Dad's okay in there?"

"No idea," Lenore shrugged before taking a deep breath, her voice strong again, "Alright so I'm going to levitate you both down into the boat then send it back to the boathouse. I'll go back for Maurice but if you see more Shadows coming before you see us then seal the entrance."

"But you'll be trapped out!" Byron protested, horrified at the thought of leaving the pair out to die after what they'd done for them already.

"We can find another way if it comes to it," Lenore assured him, "But the Shadows can't be allowed in, not on my watch. Do you understand? There's more at stake than the four of us and if they get in and Hogwarts falls then I'm never going to get good NEWTs. Plus everyone would be dead or enslaved or whatever which would be bad, what kind of Head Girl would I let Shadows get in and kill everyone?"

"How do we seal it?" Pol asked while Byron still felt tormented at leaving them.

"Blasting the roof, remember to stand back. Either _Confringo_ or _Expulso_ should be fine, these are the wand movements," Lenore added and quickly showed them, "Slytherin Dungeons are closer so just go there and hide until it's over. It should be safe enough, if anyone gets in then Hogwarts has fallen for sure. Understand?"

They both nodded.

"Good, I'm going to lower you in now. And remember to walk not run, take it easy getting to the Dungeons. And that you do only need to do that if the Shadows get there before we do," Lenore added as she flicked her wand at Pol, lowering him down into the boat and Byron noticed a small light as he lit up his wand down on the boat.

"Thank you," Byron offered gratefully, hoping he'd see her and Maurice again in a few minutes but just in case...

"Just doing my duty as Head Girl," Lenore shrugged it off but smiled nonetheless as she flicked her wand at him too, levitating him down to Pol then making another motion and the boat moved off.

* * *

"Myriam!" Scorpius cried and rushed forwards to help the dainty werewolf who'd been knocked to the ground, non-verbally stunning her two attackers in rapid succession before they'd finished turning to the sound of his yelling.

"Scorpius?" Myriam wondered with her delicate face twisted in confusion.

She seemed to have been backed up to a wall - or half of one - by the two Shadows, she wore a simple dress that was torn - on the shoulder he got a hint faded scars similar to Michael's bite - as well as stained with dirt or soot like her face. Her dark hair was in disorder and she had blood trickling down a nasty cut above her eye, her right wrist was swollen twisted at an angle it shouldn't be at and looked broken. He was clutching at her wand with her left hand strangely as he was quite sure she was right handed, that arm looked badly burned on the underside of her forearm.

"What are you doing here? Are you alright?" Myriam continued questioning of him anxiously, "Are your parents here? My kids-"

"Our families aren't here, they're safe back at the manor," Scorpius assured her and a ghost of relief passed over her face as they were joined by Annie and Varanian, "Annie, can you help her?"

"Sure, we poor peasants love to do the bidding of you high class rich folk," Annie quipped sarcastically but nonetheless went to help Myriam, she tapped her wand at Myriam's twisted wrist and it righted itself immediately before she turned back to him as the werewolf thanked her, "Do you really live in manor?"

"More important things are happening," Varanian complained at her and Annie rolled her eyes as she went back to healing Myriam, taking her arm and tending to the burn next.

"You're-You're Varanian," Myriam stammered out, seeming to notice him for the first time as Annie started waving her wand over Myriam's arm with a blue light cascading over it which looked soothing, "You're a fugitive."

"More important things are still happening!"

"He's alright," Scorpius brushed it off, "What happened?"

"You three weren't here when it started?" Myriam guessed slowly but her mind seemed to be recovering from the shock, "I was actually just about to head back to your place to pick up the kids. If I had just been faster..."

"Well you weren't so what happened," Varanian prompted when she trailed off.

"There's not much to say, the sky just went dark and the Floo Network wasn't working, I couldn't apparate either. Then these flaming balls of rock just rained down from the sky, targeting buildings and forcing people outside into the path of those Shadows. They were marching in, stunning people. The deformed one from the posters was leading them."

"Brutus."

"Yeah, Brutus Ashain, that's it," Myriam nodded as Annie moved her wand away, the blue light stopped and he saw her arm was no longer burnt. Although he now noticed the same self-inflicted scars Michael had obtained since becoming a werewolf, Myriam had much less though, "So why are you here? And what are you two doing dressed like Aurors?"

"It's not important," Varanian brushed it off and Scorpius could practically see a plan formulating behind his piercing still oddly mismatched eyes.

"You have a plan, don't you?" Scorpius questioned and Varanian nodded carefully.

* * *

Unlike the boat ride when they first arrived in Hogwarts where he'd been filled with wonder and excitement, Byron found this trip extremely tense. The sloshing of the water and Pol's uneven breathing did nothing to drown out the sound of spells and explosions, screaming and yelling, he swore he heard maniacal laughter at one point. It didn't even help drown out his thoughts of guilt for leaving Lenore and Maurice behind or fear for his brother still inside Hogwarts, safe and sound or in the thick of it? The silence also helped amplify the dead, the Shadows' lifeless bodies were bobbing in the water near them. He felt sick and from the look on his friend's face, he thought Pol could relate.

Byron was relieved to get to the docks until he remembered they had to keep watch for Shadows, Pol took that direction to keep watch and Byron looked for signs of Lenore or Maurice. Somehow deep down, he knew which would be seen first knowing his luck. Despite expecting it, he felt his heart drop into the depths of the Black Lake as soon as he heard Pol's voice.

"More Shadows, we have to do it," Pol announced.

They exchanged a mutual look of guilt and regret as they moved as far back as possible before raising their wands to the ceiling, taking several attempts and crying both spells before they worked. Desperation proving to be a useful tool as the blasted the stone above then, the ground shook and the rocks tumbled down around them. They had to back away even further to avoid it as it crumbled away behind them, sealing the entrance - not to mention destroying the boats - and trapping the other two outside with the Shadow army.

* * *

"Feels good, doesn't it?" Sal commented knowingly and he eyed his twin through the vortex of gold, a lopsided smile gracing his face for reasons lost on him. Why had he been upset moments ago? He was powerful and it felt _amazing_, Sal's tone was warning though, "But you have to be careful, Tommy, the power can really go to your head and make it hard to think straight."

"You're just jealous of my magic! You've always been jealous of my power!" Tommy/Calderon screeched at her, "You've _always_ been in my shadow and you always will be! And now I'm going to protect my home!"

"Kind of like that."

He brandished the Scepter at the scene below him, willing the Shadows to be gone as he flung out his arm. Yellow light erupted from the Scepter and he felt a fresh surge of euphoric power flood his veins. He laughed with delight as the majority of the army were flung from the castle, launched unforgivingly back into the forest. He jerked it again and his sister went flying violently back, landing on a self-created platform of azure light rather than plunging to the ground. He waved it again and sent those coming from Hogsmeade spiraling back from whence then came, he noticed some things whizzing by them.

He scowled in confusion at something being as high up as them before realizing it was people on brooms hurtling from the Quidditch pitch, all of whom were wearing the same skeletal snake symbol. He raised his Scepter again to knock them out of the sky, to his surprise though the Scepter was wrenched from his grip. It soared out over the forest, he reached out his hand and willed for it again but it was too late. It was engulfed by Shadows and vanished, taking his stream of power and the blackness with it. Not that it mattered, dark clouds clung to the sky and smoke from Hogsmeade tainted the air. He glanced back to his sister as his thought process returned to normal, relieved and concerned to see her back on her feet.

"If you're that focused on the power, you're not focused on holding the Scepter," Sal explained, "Since it favors you, I figure I might as well put it somewhere safe and out of the way. It's not really needed here anymore anyway."

"It favors me because I don't hide behind Polyjuice," Calderon or Tommy pointed out, feeling ashamed he'd let it go to his head. He'd lost his advantage and his chance to destroy it now, he was a failure and a fool.

"Interesting, I'll have to remember that," Sal commented before straightening up, "Let's see which of us is truly the most powerful."

"I don't want to fight you Sal," Tommy/Calderon said pleadingly, "I got rid of most of your army, let's just call it a day and go home."

"This isn't most of my army and those people you through back will be back anyway, I'm not leaving until Hogwarts is razed to the ground," Sal told him darkly with a serious expression that made him look away sadly, wishing there was any other way. But he knew there wasn't.

* * *

Maurice kept fighting, sending the further disintegrating glass into the endless supply of enemies who no longer seemed to be suffering wounds from birds. He hoped Cassia was alright. They were also getting better at defending themselves from it, he instead starting transfiguring the ground into branches to grab his enemies to slow them down so he could have a shot at taking the encroaching mass out. He was losing, defending from multiple attackers constantly and attacking them was tiring and impossible to maintain indefinitely. He was forced to keep giving up ground to them, backing further away.

They just kept coming and he couldn't use Fiendfyre without risking hurting Lenore and the others, he was sporting half a dozen minor injuries by now too. In particular the gash to his shoulder was painful and bleeding quite profusely he thought of trying to tap in to the Shadow Master's power again but he needed to focus to that. Time to focus was something he didn't have when his oceanic eyes were forced to keep darting at the stream of enemies - who had now figured out to come around the sides of the greenhouses or the greenhouses themselves, giving him a larger area of attackers to cover - with his wand being a constant blur of spells, he literally hadn't a second to spare and his dodging was limited in order to hold his ground to defend his girlfriend along with the younger kids.

He was surprised when spells started firing from his side, it gave him the second to spare to see it was Lenore. She was good with a wand. She caught his eye and jerked her head, indicating they should fall back to presumably the boats. He made a sweeping motion with his wand, causing the ground in front of them to abruptly buck to throw the enemies off their feet. It gave them the chance to run back though, rushing to the edge of the cliff. Their plans were ruined though, the boathouse seemed to be collapsing and it took him a second to realize why. Shadows were making their way over by freezing part of the lake as solid ice to walk across, their lit up wands making them visible. He jabbed his wand, casting a charm to stick them to the ice which he then cast the Heavyweight Charm on and saw them plunging into the dark depths out of the corner of his eye as he turned back. He was shocked to see the Shadows were being thrown back in a swirl of yellow light, Calderon.

'This is our chance,' Lenore signed so he wouldn't have to spare time for his necklace, a hopeful expression on her face, 'I heard the Shadows break through, we can get back into Hogwarts.'

"While they're being distracted, perfect! I love you!" Maurice deduced happily with a grin that she cautiously returned with a slight blush, she made to sign back to him but he pressed his lips against hers quickly but passionately in the heat of the moment, "Come on, we have to run. Be fast. Follow me."

He barely waited for her nod before bolting, wand still out to defend against those few who hadn't been caught by Calderon's tossing them aside. They raced over the bodies and back to the main grounds which were mostly empty and just a field of trampled grass, the Shadows left firing more jets of green instead of red at him now after what he'd done but there were pitiful little compared to what he'd just been fighting plus it was harder to hit a lone moving target like a lone teenager. He slammed up shields, stunners - they required less effort - and ducked easily, coming to a breathless halt by the door in confusion as he saw the color suddenly returning to the sky. Two figures - that had to be Calderon and the Shadow Master - were standing in the sky, one on an azure platform and one on a yellow one. Was Calderon winning?

"Lenore, are you seeing this?" Maurice asked excitedly as he turned to her.

Except she wasn't standing by his side like he'd thought she'd be, he looked back in confusion expecting her to be just running to reach him but she wasn't. She was lying on the ground a few feet back, her closeness to the wall and waves of crimson hair marking her as different from the unconscious or possibly dead Shadows. Horror enveloped him as he pelted back to her, slashing his wand uncaring to stop a spell aimed for him. He fell to his knees while still reaching her, he dropped his wand he was so upset. His heart was threatening to tear itself apart from beating so irregularly and franticly. _Don't be dead, don't be dead, don't be dead, don't be dead, don't be dead_, Maurice repeated desperately inside his mind as he pulled her too still body to him with trembling arms. One look at her sightless told him it was too late though and he felt as if his heart was wrenched from him completely, Lenore was dead. He silently screamed in anguish.


	16. Chapter 16: Blood

_**Parts (65-69)**_

* * *

**V  
**

**Chapter 16  
**

Blood

* * *

**Part 1: **Nevermore

* * *

"So I guess we missed lunch thanks to Rutherford's stupid strict meal times," Orous commented to Michael after leaving Roman and Leila, they still waiting for the Polyjuice to wear off to speak to Calderon, "Feel like doing something?"

He glanced at his friend and Michael gave a disinterested shrug, apparently not bothered that they'd just been wandering aimlessly for a while. Orous lost in thought, still trying to wrap his head around the possibility of Calderon being the Shadow Master's brother. And that he had a little half-brother. He hadn't expected Roman to have a fiancée or another son, although he supposed it was more likely than Alzay having more children. It opened up a whole new level of anxiety though, Cyrus could be dead already after all. He cursed himself for being distracted by his own thoughts and looked back to Michael, he was looking like a wreck.

His mismatched eyes seemed to have sunken into the black bags on his worn out face, his face which was starting to look in need of a shave for the first time. Even his tangled mess of hair looked duller somehow, limp and streaked with gray despite his young age. He walked with his head hung and shoulders slumped. Orous hadn't spent much time with him of late, Michael seemed determined to avoid people and the difference in houses and years didn't help. Nor did the excessive Quidditch practices, the Hufflepuff Captain was working them like dogs in desperation to leave their final year with at least a single game won. Helping Roman break into Hogwarts was the most time he'd spent with him for weeks.

"So erm... you doing okay?" Orous asked of him cautiously.

"I'm sober," Michael answered sharply as if he'd thought that was what Orous was talking about.

"I meant in general, with your family and stuff or Hogwarts or whatever. Roman mentioned something about your Dad."

"I got my best friend suspended, Jack sold his soul to a Specter and is now some kind of barely human serial killer, apparently the only good things from my childhood were bad and now Annie never wants to speak to me again, Crystal's a wreck, I'm still a werewolf and I'm failing all my OWLs because I'm so stupid. Aside from that, life's brilliant," Michael told him with his last words dripping with sarcasm as he gave him a bitter smile, "Things couldn't possibly get any better."

As if to prove him wrong, the sunshine suddenly seemed to pour away from the window. The exchanged a look and tried to peer out of the small window but could see only blackness, unfortunately they were on the side of the castle facing the lake though. Michael bolted and Orous ran after him, having an idea of where he was going when he got his bearings. A second later they were bursting breathlessly out from the tower and onto the castle walls at the front of the school, staggering to the parapets and taking in the army rushing from the forest from the light in the sky that wasn't the sun. Rather two figures impossible to make out behind the swirls of azure and yellow light surrounding them, Calderon and the Shadow Master. He did make out the Scepter though, at least that the same azure light it was emitting.

They weren't fighting though, they were stationary as if they were having a conversation. He wondered if Roman and Leila had had a chance to speak to him yet, wondered if Calderon would turn on his brother. Orous doubted it would be easy for him, assuming they were siblings of course. He couldn't imagine how he'd feel if Maurice turned into an evil overlord and had to stand against him, they hadn't even known each other that long but they were still brothers, twins even...

A streak of spell tore him from his thoughts and he saw it was Michael, firing at a ladder someone had thrown up to try climb the wall. The ladder fell but it was far from the last. No one else was there, it fell to Orous and Michael to run along the walls kicking and casting down the ladders they used to attempt to breach Hogwarts, dodging easily - the Shadows were at a terrible distance and angle to be able to hit them - the spells fired up at them. They kept an eye on the battle as much as possible while still keeping up their duty, the swarm of birds and cawing breaking over the sound of spell fire told him Cassia was directing the birds again. The Shadow Master apparently noticed this too as a pulse of azure light shooting towards the Owlery caught the corner of his eye, to Orous' horror it crumbled down.

"Cassia," Michael breathed and exchanged another anxious look with him, "I'm going to go to her, if she's alive she could be hurt and if... I have to see to that."

"I'll hold down the fort," Orous assured him as he kicked down a ladder that was fired up next to him.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," Michael promised, already racing off.

Orous went back to his task worriedly, fearing he couldn't keep off the ladders by himself but he sure as hell was going to try. He was distracted by Calderon's maniacal laughter and the sudden blinding flash of yellow light, it appeared he had the Scepter now and it had changed to yellow. There was a whoosh suddenly and to his shock - and relief - the hoard of Shadows were suddenly wrenched back into the forest, as soon as his hopes started to rise they plummeted as he noticed a Scepter-like shape of light speeding away from the swirl of yellow lights he associated with Calderon over the forest. Where it was engulfed by shadows and vanished, so much for destroying the Scepter.

He didn't have time to think about that battle though as figures on broomsticks were now speeding towards them, he raised his wand but one of them had already disarmed him. By the time he scrambled for his wand, it was too late and they'd already landed. He raised it to fight his attackers and was horrified to see a familiar face, soft feature, cold oceanic eyes and light brown hair with a face for it. And not belonging to his brother, his mother stood before him and gave a cold smirk.

"Get into the castle, I'll deal with him," Alzay commanded them as she raised her wand to her firstborn son.

* * *

Maurice felt tears trickle down his cheeks as he held her lifeless body, pulling Lenore close to him an cradling her in his arms. His mind struggling to grasp she was gone, she'd been alive just a minute ago. She'd been alive. He'd felt her soft, warm lips against his, felt her breath on his face and see her smile. Just a minute ago. Now she was gone. Forever.

He sobbed before being momentarily distracted by a sloppily aimed spell whizzing past his ear, he turned in confusion. It was such a bizarre thought, that things could still be happening in the world now that Lenore was no longer in it. Shouldn't the sun have fallen out of the sky and the world stopped turning? He just wanted to sit there and hold her for a while. It was a Shadow, he realized, the last one standing. One. One person had slipped by him. One was all it had taken to kill Lenore.

And he felt a sudden surge of rage overpowering his sorrow. How_ dare_ he? How dare he take Lenore's life?! And then he had the audacity to interrupt when Maurice was just holding her?! How dare he?! A second spell shot towards him but Maurice jerked his head to avoid it though and felt his face contort with rage as he turned on the man, he raised his left hand and the Shadow lurched into the air at his command. The man was too shocked to react at the wandless magic beyond his eyes bulging, giving Maurice a chance to lay Lenore carefully - ever so carefully - down and pick up his wand.

He ducked a shoddy spell as he got to his feet and went to disarm Lenore's killer, quite literally using a spell to rip his arm off. Maurice didn't even flinch as he was sprayed in crimson and the Shadow looked like he screamed in agony, pain filling his face. Good. Maurice flicked his wand again, tearing away one arm then one leg then the other leg, not caring as he was splattered in more blood. The Shadow was still screaming and for the first time, Maurice wished he_ could_ hear it. He wanted Lenore's killer to suffer, the guy _deserved_ to suffer.

Maurice flicked his wand again, if he could hear then he might've heard the snap as he shattered one of the Shadow's ribs. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. He made sure to do it for every rib, his collar bones, and his pelvis. If he had limbs left then Maurice would've broken those too. The Shadow was crying now, tears streaming down his face and his lips moving frantically as he apparently didn't realize his attacker was deaf. Maybe he was begging for his life or apologizing or... Maurice really didn't care.

He'd killed Lenore and that was all that mattered. His Lenore. His girlfriend. He felt more tears flowing from his eyes, thinking of all the horrible things his friends - especially Rose - had said about her. Ironically, if she was as cowardly as they'd thought then she'd still be alive. But she wasn't, she'd gone with him to help despite being afraid of the dark. And that man had killed her. Maurice started making a complex motion with his wand, there was a wave of purple light that left his wand at the Shadow's eyes rolled up inside his skull as every line of his face became engraved in pain.

"Do you know what that is?" Maurice asked darkly, not caring how psychotic he probably sounded. Maybe he _was_ psychotic, he didn't give a damn. Lenore was dead. He couldn't bring her back but he could make her killer pay, "That's your internal organs boiling. I'd imagine it hurts, I've never experienced it myself. But do you know what I did just experience?"

Maurice made a violent gesture and the man gave a final cry as his heart literally burst from his chest, he discarded the carcass and heart. He went along the row of unconscious or dead, jets of green finding each of them to ensure the latter was true for them to make sure she was truly avenged and that he wouldn't be disturbed again. He just wanted to hold her. He sank back to his knees beside her, laying down his wand so he could carefully cradle her once more.

"Lenore," he cried into her hair, "Lenore..."

* * *

"So what's the plan?" Scorpius asked of Varanian hopefully.

"Well since Brutus is leading them or at least the ones attacking Hogsmeade right now, we should be able to stop them if we take him down," Varanian explained and Annie gave a derisive snort, she was still tending to the cut on Myriam's head.

"You really think they're just going to go running because you take down their second-in-command?" Annie complained as if it was a silly suggestion, "Considering how we can't see him, most of these people also can't even see Brutus from where they are."

"I wasn't done!" Varanian insisted irritably as Annie pulled a bottle of - surprisingly - water from her robes along with a cloth, she doused the cloth in water and started cleaning the cut with it, "We take him down and I can change into him, call for a retreat. _Then_ they should go running."

"We don't even know where Brutus is."

"I do," Myriam spoke up helpfully and Annie threw her a murderous look.

"Quiet you!" Annie snapped at her, much to the werewolf's confusion but Annie had already turned back to Varanian, "Look even if we do find Brutus, you're in no condition to duel him and you've said yourself that he's a talented duelist."

"It'd be three against one," Scorpius pointed out, "He'd be outnumbered and surely lose."

"Numbers isn't everything, you and I aren't even fully... magic learned... in training."

"Excellent sentence forming skills," Varanian quipped at her sarcastically with a smirk.

"I can duel," Myriam added and Annie gave her incredulous look.

"Look, lady, I'm this close-" Annie gestured, putting her thumb and index finger millimeters away to indicate a small amount, "-to just not cleaning this minor cut and bandaging it for- That reminds me, Pip, these wounds aren't resistant to healing except this one but that's because it's a specific spell. They're not using tainted wands."

"Tainted wands?"

"I guess however it's done, they don't have time to do it for everyone," Varanian offered thoughtfully as if Myriam hadn't spoken.

"Why wouldn't they use it for their attacking army?" Scorpius wondered curiously as Annie pulled out another vial, pouring that onto the cloth to dab onto Myriam's cut instead, "You'd think that'd be important."

"Maybe this isn't the whole army, a small village and a school of children probably didn't seem like that much of a threat. Especially when the Shadow Master is here in person... somewhere."

"That really needs stitches but I don't have any with me so I'm just going to dress it, okay?" Annie said to Myriam who nodded in confusion as Annie set about doing that.

"Thank you, you're a good Healer," Myriam told her gratefully.

"So you say you know where Brutus is?" Varanian prompted of her, wanting to get back to the plan and she nodded.

"He was leading them in the direction of Hogwarts, last I saw he'd broken down the wall and was standing on the rubble directing people. I can take you there."

"That'd be useful."

"You're not still doing this, it's a terrible plan!" Annie protested as she finished with Myriam and both women stood, Scorpius realizing he was taller than the dainty werewolf, "You need rest, Pip, or you'll get yourself killed."

"Rest where? Hogsmeade is in ruin," Myriam pointed out and gestured to the smoking piles of rubble scattered around, the Shadows still trickling through.

"Exactly," Varanian insisted, clearly not wanting to mention the Portkey rings in front of the stranger which earned him a scowl from Annie, "So just drop it, it's not like you have a better plan."

"I do," Annie scoffed as she folded her arms, "Scorpius and I will go with... I'm sorry, who are you again?"

"Myriam Leebin," Myriam supplied and Annie nodded in acknowledgement.

"Scorpius and I will go with Myriam Leebin to stop Brutus and call the retreat, meanwhile you go and rest."

"I'm not doing that," Varanian complained stubbornly, "And Brutus is a good duelist, I don't think you two could beat him alone. You're still learning."

"We learned enough to break you out of the Ministry!"

"You broke him out of the Ministry?" Myriam wondered in shock to Scorpius who could only nod meekly, her jaw looked ready to unhinge, "Do your parents know?"

"This is different and there's no time, unless you want your nephew to be overrun by Shadows while we're arguing about this," Varanian countered to Annie and she closed her mouth for what was probably a rebuttal, she continued eying him menacingly, "Lead the way... Oph-"

"Myriam Leebin," Annie corrected him automatically and ushered for Myriam to move which she hesitantly started to do, apparently deciding stopping the Shadows destroying her home was more important than the fact she was helping fugitives.

"That's what I was going to say if you'd let me finish," Varanian insisted as Myriam led them surprisingly down a side street.

"Isn't the way to Hogwarts on that main street?" Scorpius asked of her in confusion, walking beside the werewolf while the other two brought up the rear.

"Myriam doesn't start with 'oph'. It doesn't even have 'oph' in it!" Annie complained to Varanian behind him, "Unless you were just calling her an 'oaf' of course which is just rude."

"I know a short cut," Myriam answered as she ignored their bickering behind him, "Well it's not quite a short cut but it'll still get you there, considering how the Shadows are more focused on the main street I figure it'll be faster to avoid them then fight our way through. It's a shame Flan isn't here, he's the one who's lived in Hogsmeade all his life and knows his way around much better than I do. Well not a shame, I'd rather he not be in danger."

"Thank you for helping, by the way," Scorpius offered gratefully and she gave him a small smile.

"Well, your Mother would never forgive me if something happened to you. Besides until the Shadows are gone I'm in danger anyway and we can't contact the Ministry for help, I'd rather help them stand by and do nothing. Getting rid of the Shadows take priority over whatever you two and Varanian have done."

"Thank you," Scorpius repeated and couldn't help but think somewhat bitterly that even the petite, polite Myriam did more to help then his father.

* * *

Maurice cradled her gently, rocking back and forth carefully as he found the rhythmic motion soothing. He wondered if Lenore would find it soothing, the gentle breeze was kind of nice even if it carried the stench of death with it. His eyes were stinging from the acidic liquid still streaming down his cheeks, that was the only physical pain he was aware of despite the wounds he was sporting.

They belonged to another life, some other plane of existence where there had been some kind of battle with Shadows attacking. That felt so long ago now, compared to this calm where he could just hold her. Her hair was still soft, he didn't know why but he hadn't expected it to still be soft in death. If her eyes were closed then he could almost pretend she was sleeping, maybe had fallen asleep in his arms after studying tirelessly for her NEWTs. The NEWTs that meant so much to her.

"Wake up, Lenore," Maurice ushered her, not even sure the sound was audible, "We can study just like you wanted, I promise. I promise. If you just wake up."

But of course she didn't wake because she wasn't sleeping, she was dead. It was a shame because it wasn't even dark anymore, he could see light. Flashes of yellow and azure light kept catching the corner of his vision but he didn't deem it important, what mattered was the dark was gone. Not too long she'd gripped his hand in fear, craving comfort from the dark.

"Wake up, Lenore," Maurice pleaded with her once more, "The dark is gone. Just come back to me and you can see, see there's light. Can you see the light?"

But of course she couldn't see the light, she couldn't see anything anymore. He wondered if it was light where she was, he hoped it wasn't dark. She didn't like the dark. His peace was distracted again by another jet of magic that narrowly missed him, he screamed in anger at the interruption and had his wand back in his hand in an instant with an explosive curse aiming where it had come from.

He looked in time to see a Shadow falling - surprisingly - from the sky, his broomstick dropped a second later as Maurice ended him with another Killing Curse. He glanced up and saw Shadows now flying on broomsticks over his head, seeming to be heading for the castle walls but a couple seemed to have spotted that he was alive since he had knocked their comrade from the sky. Firing more spells at him, he deflected them furiously as he laid down Lenore again. Would no one let him five minutes of time?!

He willed the broomstick to his hand and shot up into the sky, the extra year of Flying lessons paying off as he could weave to avoid spells while also attacking. Unfortunately the Shadows also had that, some he felled easily but others were more skilled. He changed tactic and instead tried to attack their brooms, he lit one on fire and transfigured another into a blade, struck one with a bolt of lightning...

It was harder for them to move the clunky school brooms they seemed to have stolen out of the way then to just protect their body, he watched them drop like flies until one remained who was especially talented. Finally, he used the air itself to his advantage, circling his wand to trap the guy in a mini vortex which sucked the air away. He watched his victim suffocate through the haze of wind, only letting him drop like a rock when his body went limp. It served them right for interrupting.

He just wanted to hold his girlfriend not fight them after all, maybe when they were all gone he could have peace. He flew over to where they'd been heading, landing on the wall where the Shadows were hurtling into the castle. He magically fired a spell to seal the door and launched a fire storm down upon at those closest when they looked to see what was happening, only then did he land.

Maurice left them to burn and landed behind them, more Shadows were still rushing towards him. He deflected a stunner and dodged a Killing Curse, firing back a curse to snap his neck. His comrade tripped over the body and Maurice quickly blasted him off the wall before he'd finished falling or righted himself, he levitated the body of his first victim to toss at the two after him then ended them with two bolts of lightning to the brain while they were on the ground.

He didn't even spare them a glance as he continued forward as a leisurely pace, stepping over the mess he'd made disinterestedly. How many people had he killed now? He didn't even know. He didn't even care. They'd made him a monster, made him a killer, even made him a shadow. Death's shadow. He was barely paying attention to the battle, his body instinctively knowing when to dodge and when to fight. He left no one alive in his wake. After all, the last time he'd left one alive in his wake... Lenore had died.

And then he froze as he saw Orous on the ground with their mother standing over him, she must've heard him as she was abandoning his brother to spin to face him. Orous stopped writing, the effects of the Cruciatus Curse being lifted as she turned to her younger son instead. Maurice just felt sad, his insides shriveled up and cried. Mothers were supposed to love their children, protect them, care for them. Not fight them, torture them, not leer at him murderously. He understood her anger to him, had he not had his own revenge for Lenore after all? But not for Orous, he'd done nothing to her.

She was a terrible mother. He should be angry, he should be furious, he should be livid with rage at fate for assigning him such a loveless mother to give him life and at her for being so awful. He should hate her, despise her, he should want to tear her limb from limb. But he didn't. Maybe in the past but not now. Now, he just felt sad. Sad she wasn't the kind of mother his friends took for granted, sad she was incapable of loving her own children, sad things had turned out this way. He just felt sad. It wasn't like he was blameless, he'd been a terrible son too and had taken someone she loved from her. He took after her. Despite everything she was still his mother and he had no desire to fight her. He tossed aside his wand.

* * *

"Here we are," Myriam announced.

They came to a halt near the end of a side street that led onto the main street through Hogsmeade, Scorpius saw immediately she was right. Brutus' rather distinctive deformed visage was visible, sure enough he was on the other side of the street standing on a stack of rubble that originally had been a wall while the Shadows strode past him towards the distant Hogwarts. More surprisingly though was that Scorpius could see what he could only assume was the Shadow Master, standing in a swirl of azure light holding a Scepter-shaped light of the same color. He was standing opposite a swirl of yellow light that had to be Calderon, both were standing on platforms of light. Shouldn't Calderon be fighting him?

"There he is," Varanian said with relief as if he'd doubted they'd get there.

"Gee, really?" Annie wondered in mock surprise which earned her a frown, "Okay great we've found him, now you can wait here and live while we fight him."

"Are you up for this?" Varanian asked of Myriam, ignoring Annie's comment completely and the werewolf nodded, "Do you think you get around to the other side of him?"

"Yes but we would have to cross the main street," Myriam answered and while Annie scowled at Varanian's scarred face.

"Well it's a risk we'll have to take. How are you with defensive magic?"

"I got an E on my NEWTs and OWLs for Defense Against the Dark Arts, plus I survived the attack of the werewolf army."

"Alright, that'll have to do," Varanian nodded in approval, "So if two of us go over to him now and engage him in a duel while two more of us go at him from the other side. We try spread out in a kind of square so he has to duel from multiple angles at once so one of us should eventually get a stunner in. Everyone okay with that plan?"

"No," Annie complained while Scorpius and Myriam nodded.

"Good," Varanian said brightly, deliberately ignoring Annie's comment, "Scorpius, you're with me."

"Why can't I go with you?"

"Because you're being argumentative and you don't like my plan, we don't have time. So get going," Varanian commanded and Annie scowled as Myriam went to move, Varanian stopped her though, "And you're_ sure_ you're okay with this? Brutus is a skilled duelist and a killer."

"I'm okay with it," Myriam insisted, emphasizing each word slowly as if speaking to a child. She gave Scorpius a final concerned look before starting back down a side street.

"Fine but just so you know, Pip, if you get yourself killed them I'm going to murder you," Annie snapped at him as she headed after Myriam, Varanian looked incredulous.

"That doesn't even make any sense!" Varanian called after her.

"Varanian!" Scorpius hissed at him, "Shouldn't we be quiet."

"Yeah, that'd be good."

"So are we going to fight our way across?"

"We could just do this," Varanian offered and flicked his wand, immediately their robes turned to the same black with the blue skeletal snake symbol on it.

"Why didn't you do it to the girls?" Scorpius questioned quietly as they walked onto the main street, one Shadow raised his wand but lowered it when he noticed the symbol and continued on.

"Didn't think of it," Varanian admitted, looking somewhat ashamed, "My mind is still a bit shot, I'm not thinking straight."

"Maybe you should rest."

"I'll be fine," Varanian scoffed, "It's just my mind that's shot. And my body. But aside from that I'm fine. And don't tell Annie. And thanks for.. for you know, saving me."

"It was nothing," Scorpius brushed it off as they reached the rubble Brutus was at.

They both readied their wands discretely but Brutus hadn't noticed them, he seemed to have become transfixed by where the Shadow Master and Calderon were in the sky. Scorpius was about to look when he realized why, the night was being sucked from the sky. Brutus gasped in shock and his dark chestnut eyes bulged, they capitalized on this. Varanian had already fired a non-verbal stunner at Brutus though and Scorpius followed suit, Brutus was so distracted he barely managed to slam up a shield in time to protect from Varanian's but too slow to stop Scorpius' from striking him. The lieutenant went down.

"Well that was easier than I thought, good thing he was distracted," Varanian offered thoughtfully as he started to shift his appearance, morphing to become like Brutus.

"Do you think that means Calderon destroyed the Scepter?" Scorpius wondered hopefully although doubted it would happen that fast, he noticed Varanian seemed to be taking longer to change then usual as the climbed to the top of the rubble.

"No idea."

Scorpius noticed the lines of his face showed a mixture of pain and intense concentration before his face was finally twisted into Brutus' deformed features, a twin to the man on the ground. The overly large eyes were too far apart and one was higher than the other, the huge bulbous nose, large ears that stuck out and a thin mouth that actually curled up one side slightly. Up close, he also saw Brutus had a slight under-bite while Varanian took on the extremely dark auburn hair that Ashains seemed to have inherited from their ancestor. Varanian only looked in pain as his body shrunk slightly, muscles hulking out of his thin frame to mimic Brutus' imposing figure. He was breathing heavily when he was done and looked about to pass out, his body trembled as he held out his hands.

Varanian grunted and his face twisted in agony, Scorpius couldn't help but cringe as his little finger slowly split into two. Varanian breathed through gritted teeth as the now six fingers changed to the odd lengths and turned to the odd angles to match Brutus, finally done he did collapse. Scorpius grabbed him and realized he was still conscious, instead helping him into a sitting position. He hung his head and continued panting, Scorpius sat next to him worriedly. Maybe Annie was right about him needing to rest.

"Are-"

"I'm alright," Varanian cut him off and glanced at him with his eyes still one silver and one blue, his body still trembling, "I can handle it. I can rest when this is over."

"Are you sure?" Scorpius asked anxiously and Varanian nodded, his eyes changing to Brutus' dark chestnut and his breathing becoming more slightly more even.

"I'm sure," Varanian assured him in a perfect imitation of Brutus' gruff voice.

"You do imitations really well."

"Helps being able to alter your vocal chords to suit the person you're trying to mimic," Varanian shrugged as he stood slowly on shaking legs but he stood, Scorpius jumped up as well and noticed the unconscious Brutus beside them.

"Should we... Should we kill him?" Scorpius asked hesitantly and Varanian's eyes bulged in surprise, it diminished slightly as Scorpius jerked his head at Brutus, "He is one of the Shadow Master's Lieutenants and all, losing one would cause him a bad blow."

"True," Varanian nodded hesitantly before swallowing and raising his wand to Brutus' helpless body, "I suppose we should..."

* * *

**Part 2: **To Kill

* * *

"Avada... Avada..." Varanian started to say strongly but trailed off both times, staring unblinkingly at Brutus, "Avada Kedav- Avada... Avad..."

He couldn't do it, Scorpius realized as he was struck by a strong sense of deja vu from when he couldn't kill the Shadow Master back in his Second Year. That felt like so long ago now, Scorpius thought he'd come a long way since then. He thought they all had.

"I can't do it," Varanian sighed heavily as he lowered his wand, "I've killed before but I'm not a murderer. I've never intentionally killed someone, it just happened in self-defense. I can't just kill someone. Not like this."

"I'll do it," Scorpius announced determinedly and raised his wand to Brutus' grotesque face.

Brutus, who was the right hand man to the Shadow Master who had killed his baby sister, his grandfather, Molly's parents, Vern's parents, Abby's brother, Headmistress McGonagall, Varanian's family, a bunch of other people, tried to kill Antonius and who was responsible for destroying his, Orous' and Lorcan's lives, not to mention Antonius and Orous' souls, even Jack and causing Michael's lycanthropy, Myriam and Lysel's too for that matter. Brutus deserved to die for what he'd done, for the lives he'd helped destroy. He'd also helped destroy Ashylos' soul to _save_ his brother though, he was Professor Ashain's brother and Aurelius' son after all, he'd been the one to save him from the muggles, he had made sure Antonius' soul was restored... Brutus had _some_ fragments of good left inside but that didn't change anything, he'd chosen his side and was guilty of sin.

"Avada..." Scorpius started but found himself trailing off, Brutus' chest rose and fell gently as he slept oblivious to the fact his life was about to be over, "Avada... Avad..."

He actually looked quite peaceful, one of his hands had fallen across his chest while the other lay at his side with his wand beside it. His eyes were shadowed as if he hadn't been sleeping well recently, not so different to other people he knew who had seemed tired lately. Brutus didn't even flinch at the wand trained on him, he couldn't because he was quite unconscious. He was so easy to kill. So utterly helpless, defenseless... Scorpius sighed heavily and lowered his wand.

"I can't do it," Scorpius admitted glumly and hung his head in shame, "I'm too weak to kill him."

"I don't think it makes us weak to not kill him," Varanian pointed out.

"He probably wouldn't hesitate to do it to us."

"All the more reason that it's good we're _not_ doing that," Varanian offered and Scorpius glanced back to him in confusion, he tried to explain, "The Shadows have done horrible things... Morality, legality, they're all blurry lines we're walking on right now and we should always strive to be on the right. Before you and Annie saved me, Harry Potter was torturing me with the Cruciatus Curse... I understand why, I don't think anyone who uses Unforgivable Curses is automatically evil but... They're _Unforgivable_ for a reason. They're not things I wish to inflict on others, I'd rather find another way. We don't want become just as bad as the people we're trying to stop. Do... Do you understand? Does that make sense?"

"I think so," Scorpius said thoughtfully and glanced back down at the unconscious man, "What do we do with Brutus then?"

"We can just tie him up and... dump him out of sight for now," Varanian decided with some uncertainty in his tone, flicking his wand at Brutus which caused him to immediately be bound by thick ropes. Varanian's legs shook unsteadily and his eyes rolled back slightly, his appearance wavered and for a second Scorpius was sure he was going to pass out.

"Why don't I move him, eh?" Scorpius offered in concern for his health with the lingering effects of the potion, Varanian surprisingly just nodded.

"Just take him over the side of this rubble away from the passing soldiers, keep him low on the ground to lessen the risk of drawing attention."

Scorpius nodded and levitated the bound Brutus off the ground - nonverbally - but hovered him low, moving with him down the side of the rubble furthest from the soldiers. He hadn't realized the smell of smoke had been so strong until he'd moved down the side with Brutus where it wasn't so strong, he got the strangest scent from him. It was like perfume but mingled with baby powder of all things, did Brutus have a child? He thought it was doubtful considering the admittedly hideous appearance and even if he did, he didn't have Brutus pegged as the hands on fatherly type. The baby powder smell probably came from Scorpius since he had spent some time with Sol yesterday.

"Calm down!" Annie's voice snapped abruptly and Scorpius scrambled back up the rubble to see what was happening, the women had rejoined them and Annie had grabbed Myriam's wand arm and seemingly lowered it from pointing at Varanian, "That's just Pip, you know Varanian. Isn't it obvious?"

"Not really," Myriam admitted and Scorpius nodded in agreement as he was inclined to agree, Varanian did still look identical to the man he'd just lowered behind the rubble.

"Well you people are just blind," Annie insisted as she let go of Myriam and rolled her eyes at them.

"How can you tell?" Varanian complained, seemingly irritated at how easily she could detect his disguise.

"You're still you no matter what you look like," Annie pointed out as if it were that simple, "What did happen to Brutus this great and fearful duelist then?"

"He was distracted so we stunned him and dumped him down there," Scorpius answered for her, gesturing vaguely to where he'd left Brutus.

"How do we make them retreat then?" Myriam asked worriedly, her gaze drifting to the Shadows still walking by. It was a valid question.

"Last I overheard the symbol for victory was the Shadow Mark - what they call their skeletal snake symbol now - and the symbol for retreat was the Shadow Mark except a live snake not a skeleton," Varanian explained before swallowing as if nervous and firing his wand up into the sky, "Let's hope it hasn't changed."

* * *

"_Ex-Expelliarmus!_" Orous cried uncertainly at his mother.

The jet of light shot from his wand but she flicked her wand in a flash, a shield appeared and the spell was deflected off into the sky. She'd cast her own non-verbal Disarming Charm at him the second she was done with the shield, he jumped to the side to avoid it and landed straight into the path of a second disarmer that he hadn't noticed her fire. His wand flew from his hand and she slashed her wand again mercilessly, Orous felt as if he'd been punched in the face by a train. He was thrown off his feet from the immense force of the blow and landed with a throbbing pain pulsating from the left side of his face, his eye stung painfully as he tried to open it.

"Is that any way to greet your Mother?" Alzay sneered as he tried to get up, she kicked him in the stomach with a surprising amount of force and he fell back down.

"Is that any way to greet your son?" Orous gasped as a counter, feeling a mixture of hurt and anger as he tried to get up again but received another kick. And another.

"You're pathetic, Orous, absolutely pathetic!"

"Don't we mean anything to you, Mum?!" Orous shot out, managing to turn his head to face her without being kicked back down and he spotted his wand not too far away. Alzay's expression was blank but he genuinely wanted to know, "You carried us, you gave birth, you raised me for nine years. What about maternal instinct? Do you really not care?! Do you really not care at all?! You're a terrible Mother!"

"_I_ gave you life! _I_ carried you! _I_ gave birth to you! _I_ raised you!_ I_ did all of that! And you have the nerve to accuse me of being a bad mother?!" Alzay screamed at him furiously, she flicked her wand as if to punctuate every single sentence and he felt a stinging pain biting into his back with each one, "What did _you_ ever do for _me_?! I'm not a terrible mother, you're terrible children! After all I've done for you, you have the nerve to expect more?!_ I_ wiped the drool from your chin! _I_ wiped the shit from your arse!_ I_ wiped your vomit off the floor!_ I_ wiped the tears from your eyes! _I_ did all of that_ for_ you. Do you think its fun?! Caring for a needy ungrateful little brat?! And you have the audacity to claim I was a bad mother?!_ I_ put clothes on your back!_ I_ put a roof over your head!_ I_ put knowledge into your brain! _I_ wasted my precious time on you! Anyone who says children are adorable are liars! Anyone who says it's rewarding to raise a child is deluding themselves! It's an endless, thankless chore and yet you still want_ more_?! _I_ gave you everything and you've done nothing in return!"

"You hurt us!" Orous whimpered in protest through the pain which earned him another kick, he could feel blood trickling form the wounds on his back now, "And Dad!"

"Cade is a worthless muggle and Roman is as weak as you are, you're your father's son! What kind of pathetic excuse for a wizard allows himself to be tortured by a woman?!" Alzay spat venomously, looking ready to start frothing at the mouth but at least she'd stopped slashing his back. He tried to discretely crawl closer to his wand which earned him another kick, "I made Maurice strong! Maurice wouldn't even be a wizard if not for me! _I_ invented his translator necklace, without that he'd never be able to do magic! He'd still be talking with his hands like the freak he is! And you, I raised you! I gave you everything! And you turn around and let yourself be abused by muggles?! Muggles! Scorpius Malfoy killed one of them at least! You just let them defile you! What kind of pathetic excuse for a wizard allows himself to be tortured by muggles?! You're as bad as Pyrrhus!"

"You-You knew about the muggles?" Orous croaked out tearfully. Despite suspecting it, it still felt like a knife twisting into his heart, "You knew what they would do to me?"

"Of course I knew! It was my idea to use them the first place! Why do you think I let you go to the park alone that day, huh?!" Alzay demanded of him and the tears dribbled from his eyes, she kicked him again.

"How could you do that? I was nine. I was a child, your own child."

"I did it for my Father! The greatest man who ever lived, he was the best!" Alzay told him and her voice cracked as she fought of tears, "I did everything for him! I did everything to get him back! After all I did for you, is a few months of pain to save your grandfather really too much to ask?!"

"They destroyed my soul! They starved me! They beat me! They-" Orous sobbed and he was kicked again to silence him.

"My Father spent seventeen years in Azkaban! You had eleven months!" Alzay protested fiercely, her teeth bared but tears flew from her eyes, "And after I gave you life, after I gave you _all_ life, what do you do?! How do you repay me after everything?! Maurice kills my Father! I finally get him back and Maurice murders my Father! He murders him! After torturing him! He tortured and murdered my Father! He took him from me, he took the person who matted most! And don't pretend you're not the same! Don't pretend you wouldn't have done what he did if only you weren't so weak! And after my Father cared about you, wanted to meet you! And you killed him! I hate you! I _hate_ you! _Crucio!_"

Orous screamed in agony as pain erupted from every fiber of his being, he felt as if thousands of drills were boring into every part of his body. He thrashed against the pain, his body instinctively trying to contort itself into a position where the pain couldn't hurt him.

_"Crucio! Crucio! Crucio!_" Alzay repeated mercilessly, the pain only seeming to intensify if possible. Orous felt as if his brain was about to explode.

Abruptly it stopped, Orous lay there shaking from the residual waves of pain still cascading from him. He turned his head to see what had caused his agony to end, surprise to see it was his brother. He felt a stab of relief, if anyone could stop her then it was him. Maurice was looking frightful though, he was covered in blood and only some of it was from the minor wounds dotted around his body. His eyes were oddly blotchy and red, his face stained by tears. Had something happened? Orous started to feel worried, that turned to shock and horror when his twin threw aside his wand. Alzay apparently was also stunned by this as her wand stopped mid-movement.

"I understand," Maurice told her calmly, his expression broken as he held out his arms as if presenting himself to her, "I killed your Father and you have a right to revenge. I have no desire to fight you so do what you want, Mother."

"Have you gone insane?!" Orous demanded of him despite the fact his hands were nowhere near his necklace and his eyes nowhere near Orous.

"_Crucio!_" Alzay cried at the same time.

Maurice's face contorted in agony, his body dropping to the ground and writhing against the pain. He didn't scream at first, his body just twisting and squirming. Alzay's expression was murderous and the oceanic eyes she shared with Maurice focused, unrelentingly torturing her younger son. If there was anything worse than being tortured, it was seeing someone you loved being tortured. Finally Maurice screamed.

"Stop!" Orous called out uselessly, "Stop it! Stop it! He's your son!"

Naturally, she didn't seem to care. Because she didn't care, she'd made that quite clear. She never would care. She was an awful mother, wife and person in general, she'd never be the kind of mother his friends had. He blinked away more tears and retrieved his wand, Alzay either didn't notice or didn't care. It hurt to move, his chest hurt, his head continued to thud and his back stung painfully but he ignored it. He gripped his wand and got back to his feet, turning the wand on his mother- she didn't even deserve to be called that.

"_Stupefy!_" Orous cried but once more his attempts were stopped by a shield, she held up her hand and one just appeared.

"You're not going to interfere with my revenge," Alzay sneered at him but dropped the torture from Maurice at least, "You're not even worth my time."

Orous expected her to turn her attention to him, expected Maurice to grab his wand that was now inches from his fingertips and fight back. Neither thing happened, Maurice just looked at Alzay sadly as she flicked her wand at him. Metallic tendrils with pointed ends streaked out from the stone, threading_ through_ Maurice's limbs to hold him in place which had him grit his teeth in pain.

"_Stupefy!_" Orous tried again but she again put up a shield, this time she spared him a glance at least.

"You're so pathetic, Orous, you think your worthless magic can stop me?" Alzay asked of him darkly, "You're not even my son, there's not a shred of me in you. At least Maurice is a strong soldier, they all are. All but you. You're just a weak imitation of Roman, the weakest thing I gave birth to. You can't muster more than a measly stunner to save your twin's life, pathetic. You're worthless. After you watch him die, I'll kill you. This ends today, my Father gets his revenge today."

"I hate you."

Orous hadn't realized how much he meant it until he actually said it, more tears spilled from his eyes. He hated her, he hated his own mother. He hated who she was, he hated what she'd done to him, to Maurice, to Roman, to Cade, to everyone. He hated her. Maybe he was more like her then they thought. She raised her wand to Maurice for a final time, ready for the kill. And if he tried to use a spell on her, she'd likely just deflect it again. He couldn't watch Maurice die.

"_Avada Kedavra!"_

Two jets of green left their wands and the next few seconds passed by in slow motion, Orous could barely believe what he'd done. Alzay held up her hand to put up another shield but seemed to recognize what he'd said, her heard turned to him with a look of absolute shock as did Maurice's. Only one of the identical expressions becoming frozen forever as the blinding green light collided with Alzay, throwing her back and knocking her wand aim just enough to propel the spell slightly to the side of Maurice's head. Alzay's body was launched back over the wall, dead long before she'd reach the floor while the stone beside Maurice blew up. Maurice was looking at him like he'd never seen him before.

Orous wasn't aware of that though. The instant Alzay's life had left her, he felt his already damaged soul tearing as was the cost of taking a life. Pain a billion times worse then what Alzay had done to him shot through his soul, his body fell to his knees and his hands clawed at his head at the different level of agony he was experiencing. He screamed a scream he couldn't hear as the world went black.

* * *

**Part 3: **No Retreat

* * *

A jet of red light shot up from Varanian's wand, spiraling into the sky and erupting like a firework but instead of beautiful colors it coiled into a snake. A livid red snake that curled up into a random pattern, its head placed in the center with a forked tongue sticking out of its forked tongue. He then staggered back, his appearance shifting back to usual and he looked about to pass out. Annie grabbed him to steady him though.

Regardless of what was happening with Varanian, the effect had been instantaneous with the Shadows. Literally, it must have been a sign for the Specters as much as it was for the soldiers as shadows - that had to be Specters - engulfed them and started taking the army away, picking them off one by one. Scorpius allowed himself a breath of relief, at least hopefully Hogsmeade was safe now.

"It's working!" Myriam exclaimed excitedly.

"We still need it sent it off from Hogwarts though to get rid of them," Varanian added as he brushed off Annie's aid, seeming stronger as himself which earned him a scowl as he gestured.

Scorpius turned his head in the direction Varanian had gestured, the direction of Hogwarts where they had a better view from on top of the rubble and with the darkness gone. He was horrified to see more Shadows at Hogwarts, coming from the forest and even some from their location who had moved beyond the retreat symbol so didn't see it. Those who had were turning back, they seemed to need to be in Hogsmeade for the Specters to be able to reach them. Or what was left of it, they also got a better view of the town that was essentially razed to the ground now.

But his attention was also capture by what was happening in the sky, Scorpius had almost forgotten about Calderon's duel with the Shadow Master. It was hard to make out from their distance but there was a blur of yellow and azure light still flashing in the sky, he thought he saw a glimpse of fire and lightning bolts kept shooting down at the ground, scoring it and causing dirt to shoot up as if a bomb had been detonated. Any of the soldiers unfortunate enough to be struck by a blot fell, he didn't see them back up. He hoped Calderon would be okay fighting his former friend... Who he had to kill.

"We could disguise ourselves as them and try to sneak in with the soldiers," Annie suggested readily, "Except you, Pip, you need to rest."

"I don't know if that would work, we'd have to fight our way in," Varanian pointed out, letting her comment slide, "The fact there's no victory sign indicates Hogwarts is putting up a fight."

"There's a secret passageway into Hogwarts," Scorpius spoke up, thinking of the map and Albus' stories, "I think there's one from Honeydukes."

"All passageways were sealed during the Battle of Hogwarts."

"Can't you just unseal them?"

"It would take too much time to undo the enchantments."

"Wait, are we talking about the battle from like twenty-twenty-five years or whatever?" Annie wondered while they began pondering some other way, fighting their way in posed the same problem and even travel through the Whomping Willow would just put them in the same situation only closer.

"Yes," Myriam confirmed and Annie rolled her eyes as she slapped a hand to her forehead.

"You wizard people are so dense!" Annie complained at them, "The people who put up the enchantments _lost_ this war that was eons ago, people who are probably either dead or imprisoned. What are the odds they're actually still in place, huh?"

"Prob-Probably pretty low," Varanian admitted hesitantly, "That might work although I'm not sure on the reliability of the passageways in the first place. I also don't really know where Honeydukes is though with the new layout... Scorpius?"

"I don't know either," Scorpius said apologetically, his grandmother still sent him more sweets then he ate so he didn't really have need to buy them in Hogsmeade, "I'm not a sweet person."

"I know where it is," Myriam spoke up again, sounding very much like a child eager to give the correct answer in class. Varanian eyed her distrustfully for a second, apparently uncomfortable with trusting the random stranger again. Myriam seemed to take this for another reason, a reason Scorpius actually found quite sad, "Just because I became a werewolf, it doesn't mean I lost my sense of direction. I know these streets even if the buildings on them are in ruin."

"It's not that, it's just... Well I guess we have nothing to lose," Varanian offered, holding up his - Scorpius realized they were shaking - hands as if innocent, "Let's go."

"What about-"

"There's Varanian! Get him!" a voice cried, cutting off Scorpius' question about Brutus.

With reflexes that surprised Scorpius despite his training, he spun to the sound of the speaker with his wand jabbed at a large piece of rubble that might have been a wall corner and levitated it non-verbally up in front of them to act as a shield that exploded as a spell struck it but he recast it fluidly on the shards to keep them hovering in the air. Annie had spun too, putting up a Shield Charm that deflected a jet of gold and Varanian ducked a spell that already passed their defenses.

While the Specters were taking troops away, it wasn't happening fast enough for there to be none around and some stragglers had evidently noticed them if Scorpius was to guess by the group of skeletal snake symbol clad Shadows clamoring to get up the rubble. A Specter engulfed one in shadow and vanished her though, another was strung by the deflected gold spell that sent him rolling down the pile moaning in agony and a third was too slow to avoid the stunner Myriam had fired. Evidently she was at least decent with a wand.

That left five, all mid-way through firing spells. Scorpius thought fast and with the speed and precision he'd learned from his weeks of practice, he sent the most sizable pieces of rubble hurtling towards his foes. One after one in rapid succession, aiming for their heads. They couldn't magically defend in the time it took to abandon the spell movement they'd been trying to do and attempts to doge were quite easy to stop, he just had to alter the trajectory slightly. He then cast the spell to cave in ceilings on the ground beneath his opponents feet, figuring the principle was the same and it worked. His foes fell through the crumbling rubble.

"Well done, Scorpius," Varanian congratulated him, Scorpius turned to him in surprise as Varanian clapped him on the shoulder with a genuine beaming smile on his face, "I'm proud of you."

"This way," Myriam offered as she began leading them down the pile of broken bricks, "Before more notice."

The rest of them followed and Scorpius hung at the back, trying very hard not to smile as despite the grim situation he felt a welling feeling of accomplishment, pride at Varanian's praise which meant a surprising amount to him. Evidently he failed to not smile but it did wipe the more they walked through the war-torn streets, they did still have work to do. Myriam seemed to be trying to lead them a way that avoided the main street to avoid running into Shadows, by the time they were back on it they were gone anyway.

There were still people around though, all wearing torn or singed clothes that probably hadn't looked like rags a few hours ago. They were covered in dirt, dust, stained by soot on both their skin and clothing with hair in filthy tangled messes. Many were sporting injures, some were hobbling through the town calling out in search of loved ones while others looked too stunned. Some were crying, others screaming and some kind people were reviving those stunned. The ones that could be revived, there were plenty of vacant eyes staring from hollow shells that had been people the last time Scorpius had been there, some people even sobbed over bodies.

"This is it," Myriam announced at a particularly charred area of rubble that hadn't much to distinguish it from the others save for a fair amount of glass shards jutting out from the ruined lumps of rock, "Hard to believe I was here just this morning on my way back home, getting Maurene some sweets for her birthday next week..."

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Annie wondered dubiously.

"Yes, I can even smell what remains of the sweets."

"So can I," Varanian added, Scorpius couldn't though and he didn't think Annie could either from the expression on her face. He could only smell smoke, "Where is this passageway?"

"The-The basement," Scorpius stammered out, realizing it would be difficult to get to through the debris. He also thought of something else, "Brutus! We forgot about Brutus!"

"Dammit," Varanian muttered and slapped a palm to his face before sighing, "Well I guess we can't worry about that now. Stand back."

The three of them moved away and he started flourishing his wand, magically raising large amounts of rubble and dumping it out on the streets. He noticed the remains of jars and did get the waft of sweet smells as Varanian shifted things about, unfresh mint and a fruitiness mostly which mixed oddly with the smoke. Scorpius almost gagged when he saw the mangled remains of someone who had been buried in the chaos, half of someone else two. He stopped abruptly and Scorpius noticed why, the steps to the cellar had been unearthed at the back of what had been Honeydukes. Varanian approached it and that followed.

There was no door to walk through, no bell to chime and part of the back wall and left was the only thing to even mark it as a shop. They headed down the staircase, all of them - except Annie who still had hers lit - lit up their wands non-verbally as they crept down into the darkness. From the way it creaked, Scorpius would guess it was wooden. The cellar itself was a wreck, the floor was incredibly dusty even if not littered by smashed boxes and overturned crates. He could definitely smell the sweets hear, even seeing some of them spilling out. Varanian moved through it slowly, waving his wand over the ground.

"Here," Varanian announced and jerked his wand, an unnoticed trapdoor was fully ripped off its hinges as he flew into the air and fell to the side, "Oops."

"Great," Annie spoke up and patted the metamorphmagi's arm, "Now you go home and rest, we'll take it from here."

"I'm not doing that!"

"You're just the worst."

"We're wasting time, come on," Varanian offered while Annie rolled her eyes, he was already walking down into the passageway though.

"Damn that sexy man," Annie complained irritably with a scowl.

Annie followed, as did Scorpius and he heard Myriam behind him. Scorpius found he was now walking down a large staircase, from the slap of his feet against stone... He'd guess this one was stone and the wand light confirmed the worn material beneath him. It kept going and going, Scorpius wondered how far down they were going. After about two hundred steps or so, the staircase left them in a narrow and very earthy passageway with a steep descent that Varanian didn't hesitate in heading down with them in tow. Annie walked by his side, staring to inquire about his health while Scorpius brought up the rear with Myriam.

"That was some pretty impressive spell work back there," Myriam complimented him after a while, a faint kindhearted smile on her delicate face, "I didn't realize they'd started doing non-verbal magic in Fifth Year now, I reckon you probably don't have to worry about you Defense Against the Dark Arts OWL. Your parents would be proud."

"Thanks," Scorpius muttered, returning the smile uneasily and deciding not to mention that he hadn't learned that in Hogwarts before Varanian spun to face them.

"Why are you still here?" Varanian demanded of Myriam.

"I thought the plan was to go to Hogwarts and fire off the retreat...thing?" Myriam wondered in confusion.

"Well yeah, that's our plan but not _yours._ You're not even part of the group."

"So_ now_ there's a group?" Annie said with a curious eyebrow raised.

"Yes. Well no. But... quite you."

"I want to help," Myriam protested, "And I'm not just leaving my friend's son to walk into a castle being stormed by bloodthirsty Soul Eaters."

"Fine," Varanian agreed with an irritable roll of his eyes, "Just don't do anything... you know, bad."

"You're so great at words," Annie quipped as he turned back and continued working, "I'm sure now she won't do that bad thing she had her heart set on doing."

"I said quiet you!"

"Sorry about him, he's pretty grumpy," Annie offered to them.

"I can still hear you!"

"If you don't want to listen to me call you grumpy then go home and rest!" Annie called to him, walking closer to him and Myriam now. Varanian didn't slow his pace but Scorpius got the funny feeling he'd just rolled his eyes again while Annie turned her attention to Myriam, "So what's it like being a werewolf?"

"Annie!" Scorpius protested at the abruptness of the question while Myriam looked surprised.

"What? My nephew's a werewolf so I'm curious what it's like for others, what are the odds I'll get to talk to another werewolf? Not like we're doing much while we're walking anyway..."

"Its fine," Myriam said after a moment before shrugging, "For the most part it's the same as being a regular person until the week before the full moon, then you just feel run down and week, eventually you're bedridden. It varies from month to month, sometimes it takes the full week and others it's just a few days. Mostly its how some people treat you that's different, especially in Hogsmeade. They're not supposed to discriminate against werewolves but they find some other excuse. And having to take Wolfsbane, that's something else. It tastes awful."

"The transformations as bad as they say?"

"Pretty much but it's not that bad for me," Myriam offered and elaborated noticing the confused looks on their faces, "My infant son is also a werewolf, he was infected in the womb. No matter what I go through, its worse seeing it happen to your child."

"Is there anything that makes it easier?" Scorpius wondered curiously despite himself, thinking of the possibility of there being something else he could to help Michael.

"Well having your own mind with Wolfsbane helps. And Flan - my husband - always stays with us, he's pretty great like that."

Their conversation was interrupted by a thud up ahead, their attention turning to Varanian who seemed to have run into a wall. Or rather a barricade section of solid rock, completely blocking their path. They approached him as the metamorphmagi made motions with his wand.

"Did you just walk into that wall?" Annie asked of him and Varanian turned away sharply with red cheeks.

"No," Varanian barked determinedly, "And there's no magical enchantments, we still need to get through this wall though."

"I know how!" Scorpius exclaimed excitedly as he thought of Ashylos' spell, brushing off the pang of guilt he felt at the man's demise as he made his way to the front to get through it, "_Oxaspopla!_"

"Great going," Annie quipped sarcastically at the lack of evidence that anything had happened, the other two look confused but he ignored it as he started slashing his wall six more times.

"I've never heard that spell," Varanian pointed out, somewhat more cautious with his words, "It doesn't seem to be doing much..."

"It's Ancient Greek. Ashylos taught me it, got us out of that maze last year," Scorpius offered as explanation, knowing they'd see as he slashed his wand for the seventh time, "_Oxaspopla!_"

Sure enough, the section of the wall he'd been slashing burst outwards without negative consequence, creating an almost door shaped elongated hole for them to get through._ Thanks, Ashylos_, he offered inside his mind while Varanian and Myriam stared at the hole in surprise, Annie was less perturbed due to her more limited knowledge of spells. Myriam also had the double confusion of having no idea who Ashylos was, ideally he supposed it would be better if she wasn't there.

"How did you- What- Did he teach you anymore spells?" Varanian managed to get out finally while Annie was the first through the hole, they followed knowing they had to keep moving.

"Yeah," Scorpius admitted, "I haven't tried them though."

"You have to teach me," Varanian told him seriously, looking back over his shoulder at the whole, "Yeah, I need to know how to do that."

* * *

Maurice was half sure he was dreaming, he had to have just been dreaming to see his sweet, peaceful twin brother _kill_ their mother. Then have some kind of terrifying reaction and collapse. He willed his binds to magically leave, ignoring the pain as the sharp wires cut back through him. He scrambled immediately to get to Orous, fresh tears already streaming from his eyes at the thought of losing his twin on top of Lenore. And his mother. His family climbed another level of screwed up.

"Don't be dead, Orous, don't be dead," Maurice cried words he couldn't hear, tasting his salty blood-mingled tears as they slid down his face into his open mouth.

He pulled his brother's body to him shakily, his heart not daring to breathe and his mind still struggling to comprehend what had occurred had been reality based. His trembling fingers turned his brother's face to him, his crimson eyes were closed and his skin felt cold to the touch. Maurice choked on a fearful sob, fearing the worst as he took his twin's wrist and felt for a pulse.

To his unbelievable relief, he felt it. Orous had a pulse, he was still alive at least and Maurice noticed his brother's chest was rising and falling as well. He allowed his body to breathe again. Whatever had happened to Orous, it wasn't death. He'd probably just fainted in shock at what he'd done, it was his first kill after all. He hugged his brother close, hoping he'd be okay.

Unlike Lenore. He felt his twist up painfully again and out of curiosity glanced over the parapets to make sure her body was alright, he couldn't see it though as the Shadows had returned. It was a good thing he was watching though as the next second the edge of a ladder hit the side of the parapet, Maurice laid his brother's body down to retrieve his wand as he felt another burst of rage. Couldn't he have five minutes with his thoughts?! Lenore was dead. Alzay was dead. Orous was... he didn't even know what was wrong with Orous! And they just wouldn't leave him alone.

The first figure he saw, Maurice flicked his wand furiously with a dark spell that caused bones to explode internally. Whoever it was tried to scream in pain as they fell back, dead or dying or... he didn't really care, they _deserved_ to suffer and Killing Curses required more effort. He used a spell to split the skull of the second and kicked her bloody face, sending her hurtling down. He then cast a spell to transfigure the wooden ladder to steel and another to heat it up while he waited for the next contestant, they were foolish if they thought they could take him when he was clearly in the advantageous position. They were foolish if they thought they could take him when he was pissed off, it didn't matter he was injured and bleeding.

The next person he saw leaped to grab hold of the parapet, looking as if he was howling in pain as expected. Maurice smelt the singed clothes before he saw them, the sickening scent of charring flesh was a welcome sign the ladder was hot enough to burn. The rather weedy man's hands were a shaking mess of blisters as he clutched onto the wall for dear life, it was quite stupid really as in an effort to spare his hands the entire front of his body was now touching the ladder. He couldn't let go or he'd fall to his death but to hold on was to hurt, he looked like he was screaming as the melting ladder further scolded his flesh as it disintegrated.

The man was left just clinging pathetically to the wall - with burned hands no less - with tears running down his face, Maurice flicked his wand at the littlest finger on the man's left hand. He screamed a sound Maurice couldn't hear as it was snapped, Maurice did it again to the finger next to it and again to the finger next to that, the finger next to that and finally the thumb. His body slumped as the hand lost the grip it had but he miraculously managed to hold on with just one, bony burned hand. Tears still streamed down his face mixing with the snot that was also now sliding from his nose, the man's lips were moving frantically.

Maurice wondered what he was saying. Begging for his life? Insisting he had information if he spared him? Pleading for him to stop because of the pain? Offering his surrender? Maurice _could_ use his necklace to translate the words, he _could_ find out what the man was attempting to communicate. But then again, the enemy also _could_ have chosen not to kill Lenore, they _could_ have chosen not to attack. But they hadn't. So neither would he.

Maurice started snapping the fingers on the man's right hand, the man who was very determined to live. After the last was broken the man flung his body at the wall still, using his arms to hug the parapet to stay up. Would _nothing_ kill this guy? He was mildly surprised and almost amused the guy hadn't yet passed out from pain. Maurice flicked his wand to snap the left arm, over and over but he still tried to keep the broken arm in place, making the man's lips open in a scream instead before being distracted by another ladder before put up. Well he'd just have to kill them too, kill them all. Like a good soldier.

* * *

They continued on through the earthy passageway, twisting and turning which made Scorpius think of a burrow. He started to feel increasingly nervous that it would amount to nothing, he'd never actually tried it before and so had no idea if it would really lead them to Hogwarts. They didn't run into anymore blockages at least, eventually it stopped leading down and they came to something other than dirt. It was a somewhat short, stone slide that led to a blank segment of stone. A dead end.

"What do we do now?" Annie asked of no one in particular.

"Magic, something you muggle people seem to forget," Varanian told her quite smugly as he waved his wand over all of them and then himself, Scorpius felt as if mushy peas had just been wedged into his shoes, "Come on."

Varanian started walking up the slide effortlessly, Myriam followed unconcerned while Scorpius and Annie were more hesitant. Scorpius found he had to really yank his feet up as his initial thought was incorrect, it was more like someone had put super glue on the sole of his shoe and it kept trying to stick to the ground. That was the point though he supposed, the... Sticky Feet Spell was keeping them upright on the incline of the slide and it did get somewhat easier with practice.

Upon reaching the wall, Varanian waved his wand again and it slid open into Hogwarts castle. They followed him out into the all too familiar stone corridor, Varanian flicking his wand over each in turn to remove the spell much to Scorpius' relief. He looked around and noticed they'd come from a large statue of a one-eyed witch, Gunhilda or something if he recalled. It was on the Third Floor at any rate.

"So this is Hogwarts, huh?" Annie commented, looking around the castle that was new to her alone out of the four of them.

"You didn't go to Hogwarts?" Myriam wondered in a tone of surprise.

"Nope. Never even got a letter."

"Why-"

"We're wasting time, come on," Varanian interrupted, already walking in the direction of the staircase.

"Nah, I think I'm going to go find Michael," Annie announced, causing him to halt and spin back to her face with an incredulous expression.

"You can't go wandering around a castle under attack that you've never even been in before trying to find one person who could be anywhere, Hogwarts is a big place."

"Well I'll just the map if you wouldn't mind, Scor," Annie told him and held out her hand hopefully to Scorpius.

"What map?"

"I have a... map of... Hogwarts that shows the locations of pretty much everyone," Scorpius told him reluctantly, trying not to glance uncertainly at Myriam who he wished even more they hadn't run into despite her usefulness in navigating the ruined Hogsmeade.

"You have a map of- Give it to me!" Varanian changed his sentence into a demand and Scorpius hastily pulled it out of his pocket, Varanian snatched it away, "I don't see anything?"

"You need to say 'I solemnly swear I'm up to no good' and tap it with your wand before it shows you."

"I solemnly swear I'm up to no good," Varanian recounted monotonously and tapped it with his wand, Annie peering over his shoulder curiously as the lines started to appear, "Why didn't you tell me this sooner?!"

"I didn't think it was important."

"Didn't think it was important?! Do you know what I could do with his?!"

"Not really."

"For starters we can find out the Shadow Master's name," Varanian pointed out and Scorpius' eyes darted to the page, there was no dots or names out where Calderon was though, "The Shadow Master isn't here. And neither is Marius."

"Calderon doesn't show up on the map, it's a bit imperfect," Scorpius pointed out to which he scowled before Annie took the map.

"I'll give it back later, I just have to make my nephew's okay," Annie said very seriously and Scorpius nodded in approval, he wanted Michael to be okay too. And his other friends but hopefully they'd all be with Michael, Annie jerked her head in Varanian's direction as she made to leave, "Make sure _he_ is okay until I get back."

"Hey!" Varanian protested and grabbed her arm as she tried to run, their eyes locked and for the strangest moment Scorpius thought they would kiss but obviously that didn't happen, "Take Mari-"

"Myriam."

"-Myriam, if we can't be in one group then we can at least be in pairs to watch each other's back. Is that okay?"

"I erm..." Myriam stammered and looked again at Scorpius, clearly determined to stay true to her friend.

"Look if you want to be in my group then you have to be prepared to listen to me, alright? We're_ still_ wasting time and according to the map, more Shadows are breaching as we speak and some are already inside the castle," Varanian said seriously.

"O-Okay," Myriam agreed nervously, "So what's your group called? I don't think I've heard it mentioned."

"We're... We're Gray," Varanian announced randomly and Annie scoffed a laugh at the absurdly stupid name, which earned her a scowl, "Now go."

"Alright, alright," Annie said with amusement, smiling as she tapped Myriam's arm and started to run with Myriam following, "We're going."

"And so are we, come on," Varanian said to Scorpius, also starting to run in a different direction with Scorpius keeping pace with quite easily.

"So Gray? Really?" Scorpius couldn't help but wonder to him as they ran, "All the suggestions and that's the best you got?"

"Give me a break, my mind is so scattered and racing right now that I'm surprised I'm thinking in coherent sentences. I had to think of something on the spot for her and it makes sense to_ me,_ we're mostly gray souls and outside of the realm of the Ministry and the Shadows so we're kind of in gray territor-" Varanian started to answer but gasped and came to an sudden halt, staring at a candle with wide eyes before giving a relieved breath, "Oh it's just a candle, never mind."

"What did you think it was?" Scorpius wondered curiously and recalled Varanian mentioning feeling out of it earlier, the effects of the potion were lingering for now and he had been tortured.

"Let's just keep moving."

They carried on running, making it to the Grand Staircase where Scorpius noticed a battle raging on the lower levels but was forced to ignore it as they headed upwards. He could still her the cries of spells, curses flying and smashing as things were struck, all mingling into one chaotic mess of sound with distant flashes of spells catching the corner of his eye. They could come back and help later, for now getting the army to retreat would do much more good. He feared for his friends as he ran and for the others he cared for, Professor Ashain would be in the thick of it after all and Calderon was still outside fighting the Shadow Master as far as he knew.

Finally they burst breathlessly out onto Hogwarts' front wall, Varanian's shaking limbs into a semi-resemblance - he supposed it mattered less since the Shadows would see from a further distance then in Hogsmeade - of Brutus and jabbing his wand into the sky. Again the light shot from his wand like fireworks, coiling into the snake in the sky. This time instead of being taken away by the Specters, the Shadows turned and ran. Literally, fleeing back in the forest from whence they came. He allowed himself a relieved smile through his ragged breathing, they were leaving. It quickly died though. There were still Shadows in the school who wouldn't have seen the call for retreat and there was still Calderon out there visible before them, engaged in his struggle.

* * *

**Part 4:** No Surrender

* * *

Tommy/Calderon stood there scratching his head for a moment, still reluctant to make the first move despite knowing he _had_ to incapacitate his twin sister to save Hogwarts. Not that that was an easy feat, Sal gestured and a ball of blue flame appeared in front of her, hovering in midair. She then repeated the process and four more balls of the blue fire appeared, he watched in curiosity. The flames were actually quite pretty.

"Last chance, Tommy," Sal offered to him, looking rather hesitant, "Don't make me do this."

"You know my answer, Sal," Tommy/Calderon said to her sadly and she nodded in acknowledgement, "We're on opposites sides of this."

"So be it," she said much quieter, her tone regretful, "I'll just have to knock you out of the sky, I won't lose."

She jerked her arm abruptly as if punching an invisible foe in front of her, immediately the balls of blue flames didn't look so pretty anymore as they shot towards him. He yelped stupidly in surprise and put his arms up protectively, a golden shield slammed up to defend him but Sal seemed to have expected that. Through the translucent shield, he saw his sister making circular motions.

The balls of fire started circling around him instead, making him rather like he was surrounded by a pack of those... those birds that circled prey, he forgot what they were called. The flames only seemed to grow, lengthening and widening, so much so he could feel the heat as they encircled him until he was trapped in a vortex of azure flames. Flames that he quickly realized were sucking up all his oxygen as it started getting harder to breathe, in panic he threw out his arms and a blast of air erupted outwards to disperse the flames.

Sal seemed to have expected that two as he noticed her gesture, the flames reformed into the five original fireballs and went to hit him at different angles while he was still recovering. He waved his arm desperately and conjured a wave of water to smash into the fireballs, they frustratingly moved away and he barely had time to scowl before the wave crashed into him. Sal must've stolen control while he was distracted, he was knocked face first into his platform of light which was rather like colliding with a wall.

The water didn't disperse though and instead engulfed him, now he definitely couldn't breathe lest the water rush into his lungs. He tried to will it away but it only pressed further against his skin as Sal clearly was focused here, he felt his body lifting into an upright position and saw his sister through the watery haze with a fist clenched rather firmly while those damn blue fire balls still hung around hi- Wait. He jerked his hand wildly and willed them to go after Sal, thankfully she'd stopped focusing on them at least as they obediently sped towards her.

His body dropped back down onto his platform painfully along with the water, splattering as the solid surface broke it although he was left soaked through and now had a slippery platform. He gasped in lungfuls of air, Sal wasn't holding back and neither should he if he expected to win. He glanced at her, seeing the fireballs game and her hands already moving into another gesture. He held out his palm and a bolt of lightning blasted towards her, she abandoned her gestures with a surprised expression and held out her own palm just in time to put up an azure shield that it bounced off.

He jumped to his feet determinedly while his heart cried inside, holding out his palm again to cause another bolt to shoot out. She had the same idea this time though as her shield vanished, instead a bolt of blue lightning shot from her palm as well. They collided in mid-air with an explosive clash like a thunderclap, all of it darting to the ground at random instead. Sal raised her hand again and he raised his. There was no backing out now.

* * *

"Varanian, its working!" Scorpius exclaimed delightedly.

"Great, I'm just going to sit down and... and rest for a minute then," Varanian decided, his eyes flickering as he slumped shakily to the ground and leaded back against the parapet.

"No! Come on, you can't just lie down!" Scorpius protested as the metamorphmagi's head lolled and eyes closed, for a second he feared that he'd passed out, "You can't rest here, people would be after yo- Varanian!"

"I know, I know... I just need a minute until everything stops spinning."

"Nothing is spinning, your eyes are closed!"

"Ah, I hadn't noticed," Varanian said in a tone of genuine surprise but didn't open them, "Am I still awake?"

"Varan-"

"What-What did you do?" a childish and familiar voice asked.

Scorpius spun in surprise to see Maurice, who was looking rather frightful. He was sporting at least a dozen injures, including several nasty bleeding holes in his wrists. His light brown hair was in complete disarray, his face was stained by tears and he was splattered in more blood then could be his own.

"We sent up the symbol for retreat, got rid of the army," Scorpius told him and had to repeat it as Maurice hadn't put a hand to his necklace, he then had to repeat it for a third time as Maurice apparently hadn't been focused as it didn't glow and he didn't seem to comprehend it until his face twisted into a scowl.

"Well what did you do that for?" Maurice complained of him.

"To stop the attack!"

"But I was enjoying killing people..."

"I think-think you need... erm... healing attention," Scorpius pointed out, somewhat disturbed and Maurice gave looked at him with an expression that reminded him of when Sol was listening but not understanding.

"I don't," Maurice shook his head gently, "Orous does. He... He passed out after... after he killed our Mother... And Lenore... Lenore's dead, she needs... she needs help..."

"Lenore is dead?!" Scorpius gasped in shock at her deaths - and Alzay's although he had much less sympathy for her - and tears spilled from the oceans of Maurice's eyes, "I'm so sorry, Maurice."

"She died, Scorpius... _They_ killed her," Maurice stated in a much darker tone, his flashing murderously, "And I need to kill them now."

"Well they're gone, I'm sure you killed enough. You said Orous passed out, where is he?"

"Over there," Maurice jerked his head in the direction he'd come from, "He killed our Mother then passed out."

"So you mentioned," Scorpius said with a perturbed nod, why did Varanian and Maurice both have to lose their minds now of all times? "Why don't you levitate Orous after us and we can get him help then?"

"I need to kill them," Maurice insisted through bared teeth as his face clouded over darkly.

"There's still some in Hogwarts, you can kill them," Scorpius offered, in part to placate him and in part because it was true. Maurice cocked his head to one side and his eyes lit up hopefully.

"Really?"

"Yes!"

"Okay, I'll get Orous," Maurice agreed with a nod and headed back the way he'd came, Scorpius let out a relieved breathe and turned back to Varanian who looked asleep against the wall.

"Varanian!"

"Hmm?" Varanian muttered stupidly, his head turning towards his voice somewhat and his eyes flickered.

"_Avada Kedavra!_" Maurice's voice cried abruptly and Scorpius bolted towards him in panic that he'd killed Orous for some reason, however his friend had his wand aimed at a rather battered - and now deceased - Shadow, "Couldn't hold on after that, could you?"

"Maurice-" Scorpius started to say but stopped.

He was perturbed that he'd killed such a helpless foe despite what he'd proposed about Brutus. That had been a special case, Brutus was one of the Shadow Master's lieutenants not a random solider and they hadn't gone through with it anyway. Maurice was deaf though and Scorpius didn't think he was in the right head space to talk to him about it right now anyway, he wasn't even looking at him right now and turned his attention to levitating the unmoving but thankfully still breathing Orous. Scorpius returned to Varanian, who thankfully was getting to his feet - albeit still shakily - and seemed more with it anyway.

"It seems to be working," Varanian commented, Scorpius wasn't sure whether he simply hadn't heard noticed it earlier or was referring to that it was still working, "We should get Annie then leave."

"I've got Orous," Maurice commented as he rejoined them, his twin's body hovering in the air beside him, "Let's go."

"Okay, just a-" Scorpius started to say but again stopped, Maurice again wasn't using his necklace and had walked off without another word of acknowledgement of Varanian. The metamorphmagus watched him leave with a bemused expression while Scorpius turned back to him, "Are you okay? You seem to be getting worse."

"The more magic I do or shifting then I feel like passing out," Varanian admitted hesitantly and ashamedly, "If I try lay off that until I get some rest then I should be fine, we're mostly done here anyway..."

* * *

Michael ran as fast as he could, pelting through the oddly empty hallways - he could only hope this meant someone had had the sense to move the majority of the student populace somewhere else to hide out during the attack - to get to where the Owlery had collapsed. Quidditch athleticism paid off apparently, he noticed as managed to run quite easily through the halls. He just hoped Antonius and Cassia were alive, no matter how badly hurt they were, they at least had a chance if they were alive.

His heart wrenched fearfully when he finally reached the Owlery, or what was left of it anyway. The tower was now a mountain of stone and debris, looking like it had bled out of the intact battlements left above. Owls were perched all around the ruined stone, squawking unhappily at the destruction of their hangout or at least that was his best guess. His own owl - Soara - flew over to him upon noticing him, landing on his shoulder somewhat unhelpfully and giving an affectionate - albeit deafening - caw into his ear.

She wasn't the only creature to greet him, a massive brown lump of fur started bounding over to him from the rubble. Antonius' or Calderon's dog, Hope, approached him enthusiastically, the massive mutt of indistinguishable breed not seeming effected by the destruction if she'd even been in it at the time. She sniffed him with a bouncy wagging tail before licking his hands, he brushed her aside and petted her quickly as he tried to move closer to what had once been the Owlery. Soara flew off, disgruntled by his movement disrupting her while Hope stayed by his side with apparent interest in what he was doing.

"Antonius! Cassia!" Michael called desperately as he reached the edge of the crumbled rock, half-afraid to step onto any of it in case the children were buried beneath. He squeezed shut his eyes against the painful, spine-chilling image of their small, fragile forms lying broken and lifeless beneath the stone...

"Here!" Antonius' weak small voice cried out.

Michael noticed a dusty arm pop out of the rubble and raced towards it, Hope streaking past him to return to him first while Michael clambered over the uneven stones that rolled away or crumbled underfoot. The mountain of destruction actually dipped then raised again, hence Hope seeming to pop out of nowhere. Owls scattered to clear his way and he looked down into the dip in surprise.

Antonius and Cassia were both down in the center, on an untouched smooth slab of ground despite the destruction around them. Both were covered in whitish dust from the displaced stone, Antonius was sitting with his wand - formerly a piece of the Scepter of Night - across his lap while Cassia lay curled up beside him with her eyes closed. Her pet vulture kept watch over her, standing on the closest rock while Hope had laid back down in a suspicious dog-shaped piece of the ground.

"What happened?" Michael asked curiously as he quickly slid down the rubble to reach them.

"Cassia was directing the birds to attack the army from the Owlery so the Shadow Master blasted us," Antonius recounted quietly and eyed his sister guiltily, "My wand saved us, it created a shield around us. And not the Shield Charm, it was all around us and powerful, I_ felt_ powerful. So powerful... But then it all kind of stopped, Cassia was hit by some of the rubble. I got it off her but I can't wake her up."

"It's alright, I can help her," Michael assured him with what he hoped was a reassuring smile, he wasn't good at smiling these days.

Michael crouched down beside her, noticing her breathing immediately but checked her pulse just to be sure. He whipped out his wand and muttered a basic diagnostic spell, his wand started to emit a blue light that he ran over her body. It turned red to indicate injury, noticeably over her arm - which a quick examination revealed it was broken but he'd come to that as it wouldn't was why she'd be non-responsive - and again over her head as he expected. She'd hit her head although her spine was alright at least so he could roll her onto her back to make it easier to treat her.

A few more spells and a muggle study deduced she - probably - had a nasty concussion, he knew how to deal with it but it was a bit tricky. He took an uncomfortable breathe and said the spell to heal it, a pink light emitted from his charred wand to her face as he started making the complicated wand movements required to heal, occasionally muttering the spell again when he felt the magic start to fade. He was just starting to wonder whether he was doing it right and making the slightest bit of difference at all when the light stopped because she was stirring, there was no injury left to heal. He'd actually done it.

"Easy, Cassia," Michael told her gently as she started to sit up, her face twisting in pain and she clutched her broken arm.

"Was I sleeping?" Cassia questioned, looking around and gritting her teeth through the pain as she got to her feet, "I need to be fighting the Shadows, I'm a soldier. Not a sleeping."

"You were injured but I fixed you so take it easy," Michael urged her as they all scrambled to their feet, Cassia's expression still pained as she held her wounded arm with dark chestnut eyes fighting tears to stay strong, "Let me fix your arm you, okay?"

"Okay."

"Michael!" an extremely unexpected voice called.

"Annie?!" Michael burst out in shock, abandoning the Ashains to climb back up the rubble pile and almost ran into his aunt who was standing there in... in Auror robes but she was there. She was holding a piece of parchment in hand and smiled when she saw him as did he, despite everything and flung his arms around her childishly, "I thought... I thought you didn't want to see me anymore."

"Well I can't do that if you're dead, can I?" Annie insisted as she pulled away, eying him concern, "You alright?"

"Yeah," Michael nodded before the bigger question popped his brief bubble of happiness, the entire attack had taken his mind of his family. He wondered if he was a bad person for being glad for that... He probably was, "What are you doing here? And why are you dressed like an Auror?"

"It's kind of a long story," Annie offered as she scratched her head, "Pip had a hunch and dragged us here when we were trying to save him from being imprisoned by the Ministry."

"What?! Varanian's imprisoned?!"

"Not anymore."

"Where...Where is he then?" Michael wondered in confusion, looking around and seeing only a dainty bedraggled woman climbing up after man, "And who's we? And who's that woman? Is that Leila Akram?"

"We is me and Scorpius, he's up with Pip getting rid of the army. That woman is..." Annie answered and Michael only felt more confused, how were they getting rid of an army? She glanced at the parchment, "That woman is Myriam Leebin but Leila Akram_ is_ here."

"What?! Inside Hogwarts?! How do you know?!"

"A little map told me. She's actually just outside it right now, apparently she can walk through walls."

"Let me see."

"No, I like it," Annie complained, pulling the map to her and continuing to study it, "Well except how it calls me by my first name not Annie, is there any way to change- Oh, she's with Roman for some reason and Carver Edwards, whoever that is. They're the only ones not running away."

"Who are those people?" Myriam Leebin - apparently - asked in confusion.

"We don't have time to fill you in, random person," Cassia told her harshly, drawing attention to her.

"Is your arm hurt, sweetheart?"

"Not anymore," Annie said and tapped Cassia's broken arm with her wand, the pain on her face immediately was wiped while Annie spun on her heel and started heading down the pile.

"Where are you going?!" Michael called after her, she was still peering at the map as they scrambled after her.

"Hang on a second," Annie offered and raised her wand, a large chunk of rubble soared through the air and struck a man dressed in Shadow garb as he came out in the head quite violently. He dropped immediately and she fist punched the air, "Take that Hieronymus Woodstrum! Did I mention I love this thing? Wait, what were we talking about? Oh yeah, so I reckon we find them and then find Pip because he needs to go home and rest. Oh, Gerald Highton is coming."

"I got it," Cassia announced calmly with a dark expression and cawed.

A few of the owls shot up and towards the next person to come out into the courtyard. Michael wished he had of averted his eyes as they clawed and pecked at the man's throat, he screamed until he couldn't and collapsed with a now bloody neck and sightless eyes. Myriam's eyes bulged and she gazed at Cassia as if she'd turned into some kind of monster, Michael sadly supposed she had in a way. Although at seven years old, he doubted she could truly grasp the weight of her actions, her kills. What they had done to this child?

"Who are you children?" Myriam wondered nervously.

"Oh, now his name is gone," Annie offered in puzzlement and Cassia cawed again, her vulture flew into the sky squawking loudly, "And they are Antonius and Cassia Ashain."

"Is there more bad guys inside Hogwarts?" Cassia asked as other birds started flocking to the vulture and circling overhead.

"Yeah."

"Can you see Atticus Ashain?"

"Err... Yeah. And Brutus Ashain is on the edge of the map with Rabastan Lestrange now too, we should get moving," Annie decided and started walking, the group following including Hope the dog, "We're not far from Roman and Leila Akram, they're on the ground floor and so is your Daddy. Pip and Scorpius are on their way back down."

"Where's our Daddy?" Cassia inquired rather politely.

"Main Entrance Hall."

"Okay, we'll go there and you go to the others."

"You can't go wandering around Hogwarts by yourself with Shadows breaching it, you could get hurt," Michael protested as they halted by the door and Cassia smiled sweetly before giving another loud bird call, the assorted birds in the sky swept down like a dark wave of feather and rushed through the doors.

"I think I can handle it as long as no one blows up anymore towers," Cassia pointed out and no one else objected as she, Antonius and Hope headed off in the direction of the Great Hall.

"This way," Annie added and bolted in another direction suddenly, Michael and Myriam rushing after, "Something's wrong."

* * *

Roman and Leila stood by the watching out, they stepped back when the army reached the wall but the rabble seemed to be struggling to break through the ancient wall or even the windows. He'd guess it was magically reinforced or something, he just hoped it would hold because he wasn't too confident in his dueling abilities and he didn't think Leila was an expert master either as one would have to be against a freaking army. They watched the Riddles up in the sky with glued eyes, at first they seemed to just talk then it looked like Calderon got the Scepter and the army was flung back which cased Leila to curse rather colorfully in several different languages. Evidently he lost it though, it sped over the forest and vanished, taking the night with it. And the army came back. Calderon and the Shadow Master started to fight though, it was more even without the Scepter though. In fact Calderon seemed to lose at first but thankfully started to fight back.

"Do you really think he can win?" Leila asked quietly after standing in silence for so long, he noticed she looked on the verge of tears, "It might really end the war and I can see Cyrus again..."

"I'm sure he can," Roman assured her and took her hand, giving it a comforting squeeze to try keep her spirits up even though he had no idea who would emerge victorious.

Leila sighed but gave him a weak smile nonetheless, hope budding in her beautiful brown eyes. Further conversation was cut up by the sound of footsteps though, they both turned with wands in hand but it was just a student. A NEWT level one by the looks of it, he was quite robust with blue eyes, a square jaw and brown hair shaved so short it was hard to tell. His eyes looked red and blotchy though, as if he'd been crying, he headed for the door to Calderon's room.

"Wait, you're not students," the boy said in a rough, gravelly voice as he noticed them and his features twist into a scowl as he raised his wand on them, "But you're also not Soul Eaters..."

"We broke in to speak to Calderon," Leila answered surprisingly truthfully, Roman gave her a panicked glance as he wasn't so sure that was a good idea.

"Oh right," the boy muttered and gestured to Calderon's door, "Is he still in there? I need to talk to him as well."

"No, he's out there fighting the Shadow Master," Roman offered and jerked his thumb at the window, the boy walked closer to them to look out. He seemed to relax upon seeing this and his expression became one of relief, "Yeah, he just smashed through that window and ran out of it."

"Wait, what?" the boy wondered, his face twisting back to a scowl as he stepped back, "Through that window?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Get back!" the boy barked at them so forcefully that they both obeyed, "It won't be as magically reinforced now and they might be able to break through!"

"Wouldn't they have done it if they were going to by now?" Leila questioned, which Roman thought was quite reasonable.

As if to prove her wrong however, the window and surrounding segment of wall exploded. The army started to rush in and Roman was sure his heart started to beat violently fast in terror, not for himself but for Leila. They both raised their wands but the boy must have been some kind of magical genius as he had already stepped forward bravely and fired a spell, surprisingly all of the attackers wands were wrenched from their hands. Not only disarming them but hovering in the air, the boy made a circular motion with his wand and the wands all turned in mid-air back to face their owners while the boy started tapping the air.

Some tried to run, some tried to grab their wands but all were suddenly struck by a barrage of stunning spells shooting out from their own wands. Roman's jaw dropped in shock as did Leila's, the boy seemed unperturbed but kept a look of intense concentration as he walked towards the gap with the wands still firing at the newcomers. He stepped over the fallen bodies and outside, Leila scrambled to follow him and started firing her own stunners. Roman followed suite after a second, his sons were in the school after all so he didn't want Shadows inside. Plus the other children and stuff were there.

"Stay back at the wall, use it for cover," the boy barked at them over the thrumming and clashing of spell fire, now standing fully outside on the grass tapping the air with his wand which seemed to be firing stunners and shields, he occasionally dodged a jet of green.

They did so, standing on either side of the hole in the corridor and using it as cover to fire out into the fray. The boy abandoned his wands and instead - surprisingly - shot a green spell at the ground, branchlike or possibly root-like vines erupted from the ground. Roman would have expected them to grab the attackers but they didn't, they tore into them and screams were abundant as they fully ripped _through_ the army.

They stabbed through chests where hearts would be, ripped through necks and gruesomely through skulls in some places. Sprays of crimson tainted the trampled grass and Roman had to try very hard not to throw up, the boy again seemed fine in his center of death as he made complex motions with his wand while now trying to dodge spells. He was only marginally successfully as Roman noticed his bulky body grazed by jets several times, he was bleeding from several minor wounds and had a particular nasty burn on his upper arm.

Before Roman could further debate the morality of outright murdering people trying to murder them, they ran away. Literally, they looked up then started fleeing. For a second he thought it was because they were afraid of the boy but the whole army was retreating, even those nowhere near the boy who probably hadn't even seen him through the throng of soldiers.

"Why are they retreating?" Leila asked no one in particular but surprisingly the boy knew.

"Because someone fired the symbol for retreat," the boy answered breathlessly, gesturing upwards.

Roman and Leila both crept out, stepping over the disturbing array of bodies and bloody vines to see what he had pointed at. They had to move right over to the killer, away from the castle to see it but it was there sure enough. The Shadow Mark except with a regular flesh-having snake instead of the skeletal kind.

"That's the symbol for retreat?" Leila wondered curiously and the boy nodded.

Roman scowled at him suspiciously though. He thought it was rather odd the boy knew these things as well as being a mass murdering psychopath, a mass murdering psychopath who had helped them but a mass murdering psychopath who had helped them nonetheless. He was about to query this when he noticed flashes out of the corner of his eye along with a thunderclap, he turned in surprise - as did the other two - and saw that Calderon and the Shadow Master were still dueling.

A blue and yellow pulse of light had collided with each other violently in mid-air, the resulting blast was apparently forceful enough to throw them both back off the colorful platforms they stood on. Roman watched as the two figures fell from the sky and the semi-apparent platforms vanished, they both seemed to do something to slow their fall though as they visibly slowed in mid-air. Still, they had to be at such a speed that it still hurt to hit the ground and bounce off it. It was hard to tell from their distance but they both looked the same or at least similar with the same mess of black hair and as they dragged their bodies to stand, he saw they were the same height. They were dressed differently though, one sporting the same colors as Calderon and the other in black. Leila walked a bit closer to get a better look, thankfully she stopped just before he could warn her to halt before she got too close.

They both seemed to catch their breath for the briefest of moments before continuing their fight on the ground now. A flash of yellow shot from Calderon - at least he was pretty sure that one was Calderon - towards the Shadow Master, the man - or woman - made a sweeping motion with their hand and solid ground was violently ripped up to be moved to create a wall-shield of earth while leaving behind a massive trench. The wall was exploded as the light struck it, causing dirt to shoot in every direction. The Shadow Master seemed to have prepared for his though and launched a blast of blue light at Calderon, Calderon still had his hand out though and more yellow shot from his palm to meet it.

There was a loud bang as the magical energies collided but they didn't vanish, they both kept a continuous stream of light bursting from their palms. It looked almost like a giant snake between them, half yellow and half blue, that was writhing unrelentingly. They both seemed to funnel more power into it as the light grew in size, looking more like a massive fat snake. The more power they put into it the more it became obvious that where the lights met, it was an ominous shade of green that made him think if the Killing Curse. He noticed that tendrils of green started shooting out violently from where they met, thinner ones more like bolts of lightning that scored and charred the ground around them then more fatter ones that just blasted in any direction.

The cabin near the forest was obliterated, several trees and striking Hogwarts caused an explosion followed by stone raining down although thankfully not near them. Roman was just starting to wonder whether they should retreat back inside the castle for safety when it happened, so blindingly and horrifically fast that there was nothing he could do. One of the green offshoots stuck Leila, he heard her gave a bloodcurdling, spin-chilling scream and watched as her body disintegrated in the green light. All in a split second.

Leila was dead.

Roman thought he screamed but he wasn't sure, he couldn't think, he couldn't hear, he couldn't tear his eyes from the spot a living person had been a second ago. He was definitely screaming as the boy started dragging him back inside, saying something about safety but Roman could barely comprehend what sounds they were over his own howls of anguish and sobs as the tears flooded from his eyes. Eyes that still didn't look away from the space she'd stood, hopeful the fight's end may bring her closer to seeing their son again... That would never happen now though.

He collapsed to the ground the second the boy let him go, his body shuddering from the violent sobs wracking it. She'd never see who won now. She'd never see the war end. She'd never see Cyrus again now. She'd never be able to marry Roman now. The woman he loved was gone forever. A second was all it took.

* * *

_Brutus found himself in a swamp, wading through the eerie darkness and sticky, smelly watery mud around him. It was about chest height and he'd rather get out of it but he couldn't see any solid land, just gnarly looking trees sticking out of the water and blocking out the sun if there even was any at the moment. And then he heard splashing and turned to see Sal, thrashing in the water trying not to drown. He scowled in confusion, he'd taught her to swim so why was she drowning? Or using her magic to save herself? He didn't have to think how strange it was though as he started trying to make his way towards her as fast as he could, kicking off from the ground to try propel him faster._

_He'd almost reached her when he heard more splashing, turning to see his father also thrashing violently in the water. Why wasn't he swimming? Or just turning into a bird and flying away? Brutus didn't understand, if they simply stood then they wouldn't be drowning as it wasn't that deep. For all his deformed muscular bulk, he was actually of pretty average height. He quickly reached Sal and pulled her to him, keeping a hold of her and her head above the murky water before trying to get to his father in time. He'd almost reached him when he heard more splashing, he glanced and saw Atticus also drowning despite being a perfectly strong swimmer and a capable enough wizard to save himself. If he had his, Brutus didn't have his for some reason as he couldn't feel it in his pocket like he normally could._

_He grabbed his dad and awkwardly started to make his way over to his brother, made difficult by the fact he was also trying to carry his lover and father. He also realized he could no longer feel the ground, he was moving too slowly without the ground beneath his feet to kick off from and the added extra two bodies. Atticus was starting to sink, in panic he let go of the other two to cross the distance faster to grab his brother. He turned back to the other two to see they weren't even trying now, simply sinking into the dirty water. He dragged Atticus with him back to the others but had to let go of him to drag them out of the inky blackness, he had them back in his arms when he noticed Atticus was sinking now and tried to hold them both with one arm to use his free one to grab his brother. And then he heard a sound he didn't want to hear._

_A baby crying. His baby. One of the twins, crying as they helplessly sank. He abandoned the other three to swim frantically, terror overcoming thought as he groped the water to pull his precious son out. He hugged his baby to him and remembered the others, sinking like mannequins. He tried to swim back over to them, to pull them back out with one hand while the other held his child but he could only drag them up one by one and they'd started to sink immediately. Finally he managed to throw Sal half over his back, Atticus over his shoulder and hold his father with his right arm while his left still cradled his child. Why were they even in a swamp?! What was this even happening to him?! He then heard another horrific sound, his other son crying. He located the sinking quickly and tried to swim with everyone else but found he couldn't, he was the one sinking now. Being dragged down by the people he loved. But he kept kicking, he kept fighting, he could save them all if he just tried hard enough, if he just kept fighting..._

"Brutus!" a familiar voice yelled and he jolted back to reality, finding he was lying on the dirt beside a pile of rubble with Rabastan's frantic face hovering above him, "What happened?! Why did you call for a retreat?!"

"What?" Brutus croaked out sleepily and Rabastan moved out of the way to show the symbol for retreat, he quickly shot a spell up to destroy it as the memories came back to him, "They took me by surprise, I was distracted by Sal losing the Scepter. Stunned by Pip and Scorpius. They must have fired it."

"How do they kno-"

"I don't know," Brutus admitted as he sat up, his head swiveled out to Hogwarts where he saw another symbol for retreat, "Why did you call for a retreat over there?"

"I didn't," Rabastan told him and ran a hand nervously through his gray hair, "It must've been them as well."

"How did they get into-"

"I don't know, really," Rabastan pointed out and gestured to where magic was chaotically flying in the grounds of Hogwarts as Sal dueled Tommy which was tearing up the ground which had him anxious again as he didn't want her to get hurt. Or worse. Or for Tommy either, actually. He didn't think they'd think they'd kill each other though, they were twins after all, "I had to apparate here when I noticed you from the trees, the guy who spotted you was blasted into oblivion."

"You came for me?" Brutus wondered slightly surprised and Rabastan seemed surprised in turn.

"Of course, we're allies, friends. I wasn't just going to leave you," Rabastan said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world while still watching the duel, "Had to break this apparation charms to do it too, could only get it on the grounds further away from Hogwarts even with a Headmaster as weak as Elwood."

"Well thanks," Brutus offered gratefully and Rabastan glanced back to him to ramble anxiously.

"What now? If we retreat and Sal wins then she'd continue fighting Hogwarts alone, if she loses then we won't be in a position to get her to safety. If we reorganize the army then either way, the Specters will be confused as the retreat symbol they've been trained for is still there so we can't get them away if she loses and if she wins then the Specters might also try to take people away to retreat."

"Sal can make them ignore it."

"We can't control them as well as Sal can and Sal can't control them while in the bounds of Hogwarts because of the Blood Runes."

"Alright, alright," Brutus sighed as he tried to formulate a plan, "Okay I got it. We go over to Hogwarts, get rid of the retreat symbol then you go reorganize the army. I'll wait here, send you a message to either send in a party to get Sal out or to attack depending on whether she wins or loses. Sound good?"

"Yeah. Except... How are we supposed to get close though to dispel the retreat?" Rabastan wondered and gestured again to the duel.

"We just run fast and stay in the ditches being created, cover each other's backs with shields. Lots of shields. We keep fighting, we're not losing this."

* * *

**Part 5:** Blood In The Water

* * *

"Keep an eye out for Shadows who've infiltrated the school," Varanian told him as they left the battlements.

"Got it," Scorpius nodded in understanding, his wand still in hand as he scanned the familiar halls with unfamiliar weariness.

"And for signs of students, we want to avoid being seen if possible."

"Got it."

"And for staff, they might be more problematic if they see us."

"I got it, Varanian," Scorpius insisted and the metamorphmagi nodded hesitantly, "Keep an eye out for Maurice, I don't know where he went with Orous."

"D-"

Whatever Varanian was about to say was silenced by a bang and a shill shriek, they exchanged a single look before running towards the sound. They rounded the bend just in time to see several Shadows storming through a door they must've blown off its hinges as that was all he could see of it, the last two stragglers heard his and Varanian's footsteps though and had turned to them instead of following into the room.

"There's more!" one of the cried over his shoulder which caused the stunner he fired to have such sloppy easily avoidable aim, Varanian raised his wand but Scorpius lowered it.

"You're trying not to use magic, remember?!" Scorpius hissed frantically, afraid for Varanian's health as he man scowled irritably as if regretting very much having said that, "Don't want you to pass out."

The man had already fired a second stunner with better accuracy and Scorpius focused as he made the wand motion, non-verbally bringing up a perfect Shield Charm that took the blast for them and deflected it right back into the second Shadow. Scorpius jabbed his wand to send his own stunner the man's way, the Shadow was nimble though and dodged it as he moved forward and made a familiar slashing motion.

Varanian made some sort of strangled noise but Scorpius had already swiped his own Acutus Curse through the air silently, the spells clashed in a perfect cross and he remained unharmed. Apparently not wanting to be outdone by a teenager, the man had already launched a second blow that Scorpius countered. And again. And again. The man's face burned red with rage and he tried a low blow to the legs, Scorpius leaped up to avoid it and slashed his wand at the man's torso. The Shadow frantically slashed his wand across to counter it in defense as he stumbled back, forced to as Scorpius had shortened the distance between them.

But Scorpius was now officially on the attack. He took another step forward as he made his second strike, the man slightly off-balance from having to move but still managed to wave his wand in a sloppy defense although he was looking nervous more than angry. Scorpius did the same again. And again to gauge his reactions. He deliberately made the next strike lower and to the left, forcing the man to defend his non-dominant side and he was busy stumbling his step back as well to avoid Scorpius' next vertical slash to the right of the man's body. The Shadow was too slow as predicted to avoid it, sending him spiraling to the ground with a howl of pain and a bloody wound running down his torso from his clavicle.

Scorpius fired a stunning spell down to him, ending the movement and moans of pain. Without hesitation he stepped over the other body to enter the room they'd been charging into, there were three Shadows against six students. All of whom he recognized. Vern and Olivia were doing alright, the pair of them taking on one which seemed to make up for the lesser skill. The other four weren't faring quite so well against the other two, Lorcan was relentlessly firing powerful curses - mostly the blasting kind - at them and dodging what was thrown at him but the Shadow did keep defending or dodging himself. Hugo was focusing on defense, casting Shield Charm after Shield Charm to defend the four of them. Lily and August's join efforts didn't quite match the third Shadow the way Vern and Olivia's did though, Lily's arsenal was limited and her aim sloppy while August seemed to require more concentration and kept being cut off mid-spell to dodge something, he didn't seem good at casting while in motion as the others.

It was a disused classroom and he noticed desks pushed against the wall opposite but not much else. He also noticed the value of non-verbal magic, not having to say the spells was very clearly maximizing how fast the Shadows could fire. Vern and Olivia tried to counter this by firing one after another so there was always something happening their end, however the Shadow was still firing twice as fast. Scorpius stunned the one they fought in the back, regretting his choice as he heard Hugo cry out as a spell caught his shoulder. Hugo fell to his knees clutching at the gushing bloody wound with his teeth gritted and his face a mask of agony, Scorpius launched a second stunner but the attack was more angled and noticed so instead spun with a Shield Charm ready to block it and the deflected spell caught Lily unintentionally.

Lily started to crumple to the ground unconsciously with her Shield Charm unfinished, very bad as the final Shadow who seemed frustrated from Lorcan's tenacity had also cast a spell at her that was an ominous shade of purple. Scorpius made to help but was forced to put a shield up against a spell the other had fired at him instead, August's eyes bulged in horror and he threw himself without hesitation fully in front of Lily to protect her helpless, falling body. White light flashed as the spell struck him, he was thrown violently back into the far wall. His body was smashed against it as if he'd been hit by a wrecking ball, there was a horrible sound somewhere between a crunching and cracking before his now bloody, mangled body crumpled to the ground. Scorpius jerked his wand rapidly as he ducked under a curse, flinging a desk on its side in between the Shadows and the Third Years to act as a shield.

"_Avada Kedavra!_" Lorcan cried, shocking everyone conscious - Shadows included - as his face twisted with vehement rage.

The Shadows avoided it though, leaving it to sail right on towards Scorpius which he realized was a disadvantage of not dueling with an ally side by side, your spells were more likely to hit your ally if the enemy could dodge. He was focused and swished his wand through the air, duplicating the desk and slamming the duplicate up as his shield. It exploded on contact and he tossed the debris at his foes, one was too slow and was struck by it and the one fast enough to slash at it to disintegrate it into nothing was too busy with that to defend from Scorpius' stunner. He turned on the third but the man was struck in the back by a stunner sent by Vern, Olivia's striking a second later. Their foes were neutralized. But some of them were injured.

"I-I'm so sorry, Scorpius," Lorcan stammered out apologetically, looking somewhere between shocked and horrified, "I didn't mean to-"

"What are you even doing here?!" Vern exclaimed over him, his face only registering surprise.

"When did you learn non-verbal magic?" Olivia added in confusion

"Long story," Scorpius offered as Hugo got to his feet, still gripping his bloody shoulder in pain but they apparently noticed something behind him.

"Varanian!" Lorcan cried happily and Scorpius spun, seeing the metamorphmagi entering with Maurice who he'd apparently found with Orous' body hovering in the air behind them.

"You-You know healing spells, right?" Scorpius asked of Varanian immediately while those conscious rushed over to them, except Olivia who tactfully went over to revive Lily.

"Yes," Varanian admitted slowly, "But I can't use anything unless I know what spell it was."

"We don't know what spells they were using," Vern pointed out, eying his floating friend and the bedraggled Maurice who no had slightly singed robes as but stood firm and didn't make any attempts to use his necklace to follow the conversation, "What happened to Orous?"

"Don't know, Maurice says he passed out after he killed Alzay," Scorpius filled him in dismissively while the muggle-born's jaw dropped as his attention remained on Varanian, Lorcan was staring at him in awestruck expression while Lily came over with glasses lopsided and eyes wide at her boyfriend and cousin's condition, "Why do you need to know the spell?"

"Alzay's dead?!"

"Because curse wounds are tricky, you need to know what they are to fix the magical damage not just the physical damage," Varanian explained, "I know some healing spells but unless I know what I'm healing it could do more damage than good and unfortunately I don't know the spells to figure it out."

"Why are you here? How did you get here?" Lily wondered in confusion.

"Long story," Scorpius reiterated, "Should we take August with us then?"

"I wouldn't recommend it," Varanian admitted regretfully while Lily spun and gasped at her friend's body, "Depending on how injured he is and the way it looks like he was slammed into that wall, moving him might only make his wounds worse especially if we're fighting Shadows at every turn, he's in worse condition for it then Orous. It's better if help comes to him."

"Well then we should leave the injured here and get help quickly."

"I agree."

"Maurice!" Hugo burst out abruptly in horror and they all glanced to the deaf child who was systematically firing jets of green at the unconscious Shadows with a blank expression, Varanian grabbed his arm to stop him but he seemed finished anyway.

"What?" Maurice wondered disinterestedly, apparently not seeing the issue as his free hand went to his necklace, "Would you rather they wake up and try to kill everyone again? No mercy for the enemy."

"Wouldn't you want the enemy to show you mercy?" Vern inquired and Maurice shrugged.

"It would play to my advantage but proves them to be not as much of an effective soldier as they could be. Now are we done? This is wasting time, injured need help and keep murdering Soul Eaters since Varanian and Scorpius made the army go away."

"Wait, the army's gone?!"

"For now they retreated," Varanian confirmed, "We tricked them into retreating from here and Hogsmeade but some still have infiltrated Hogwarts though and I'm pretty sure the Shadow Master is still dueling Calderon out there."

"The Shadow Master's dueling Calderon?!"

"Way to go," Lorcan offered with a rare, impressed smile thrown Varanian and Scorpius' way.

"Yes, now come on," Maurice insisted while Varanian went over to August, "We need to kill them before there's none left!"

"Why do you want to murder them?!"

"Because they murdered Lenore," Maurice answered darkly and Vern's eyes bulged in surprise.

"I-I'm so sorry, Maurice."

"He is still alive," Varanian announced as he wandered back over, a mixture of guilt and relief played on most faces. Relief he was alive and guilt they hadn't considered the possibility that he wasn't, "So we split up, Scorpius, myself and one of you come with us to get help while the rest stay to make sure they're alright."

"I'm coming," Maurice announced at the same time as Lorcan.

"I want to come," Vern, Olivia and Lily added while Maurice levitated his brother's body to the ground, Varanian rolled his eyes.

"Some of you have to stay to make sure they're alright," Varanian insisted, "Potter and Slytherin girl, you two stay."

"Why us?" Olivia complained while Lily apparently decided staying with her cousin and boyfriend wasn't that bad a fate.

"Because you were the strongest duelist in the room and Potter the weakest of those still standing, someone good needs to stay to protect them and the weakest might slow us down."

"Alright," Olivia agreed, seeming more at ease with it and apparently pleased at the compliment to her dueling ability.

Vern leaned in to kiss her goodbye but Varanian and Maurice had both turned on their heels and left the room, Scorpius and an ecstatic looking Lorcan following. Maurice callously tossed the Shadows bodies aside and closed the door after Vern followed them out, waving his wand over it in complicated motions which Scorpius would guess was some kind of protective enchantments. Maurice even said as much before they kept moving, no one needing to be told twice to keep their wands out as they hurried through the halls. Maurice scouted ahead, sometimes they heard cries and flashes of color but by the time they'd ran to him the Shadows were already lying dead at Maurice's feet.

"V-V-Varanian," Lorcan spoke up after a while, looking fidgety and increasingly nervous the more they walked, "I erm... I wan-wanted to-to thank you for saving my life those few years ago."

"No problem," Varanian assured him.

They were forced to halt as Lorcan did, holding out his free hand for Varanian to shake. Scorpius and Vern both gave a strangled cry of fear as Varanian reached out to take it, not knowing how deeply Lorcan's aversion to touch was and how bad things magically although accidentally tended to happen to those who tried. He'd burned his father's hands for hugging him, considering Varanian's fear of fire it was an especially bad fare. It was too late though, Varanian had already shaken his hand. Everyone tensed but the oblivious Varanian... Nothing happened. No explosions or fire or anything, Varanian shook Lorcan's hand and let go without any negative consequence befalling him. Lorcan smiled and blinked away tears of joy, although whether from having got to shake his hero's hand or because of being able to touch someone, Scorpius wasn't sure.

"Am I missing something?" Varanian asked in confusion at their relieved faces.

"No," they all said quickly and continued walking, Varanian scowling at this as he'd clearly picked up on their lie but bigger things were happening so he let it slide.

"Alright," Maurice announced as he approached them, "In the main entrance hall is where people are, there's a bunch of students who were helping fight and it's where Marigold the Healer is so we can get help for the others. Cassia came in with a storm of birds and pretty much wiped out any Shadows there so its secure, there's some teachers searching the castle to hunt down stragglers though. And I talked to Antonius, he said Michael was with two women and they were going to near Calderon's room so that's probably where you two should go if you want to get out of here without being seen."

"Okay," Varanian nodded, "Scorpius and I will do that, the rest of you get help and good luck with your friends."

"You now if you need anyone to help fight the Shadows then I will, I want to help," Lorcan added, looking somewhat desperately and somewhat saddened at the metamorphmagi leaving.

"Good to know."

"I'll explain once I'm no longer suspended," Scorpius added to Vern who inclined his head in understanding before he and Varanian took off in another direction.

* * *

Brutus realized his foolish mistake the closer they got to Hogwarts, it was quite easy to stay out of range of Riddle's duel from the outskirts of Hogsmeade and easier to avoid the flailing bolts of magic when you were further so could move before they reached you. But the closer they got to Hogwarts, the closer they got to the battle which put them in more in range and cut down the time they had to react.

They might still have just about managed it except for the fact he'd failed to take into account that the duel was intensifying, the clash of the magics only intensifying with larger, violent bolts of green bursting out from where the two jets met. Seeing they weren't going to be able to outrun the tendrils of probable death, Brutus finally grabbed Rabastan and pulled them both down into one of the trenches torn up by the fight. Just in time as a jet sailed over their heads, Brutus took out his wand and used to pull dirt out of the ground between them and the Riddles to act as - hopefully - some defense against the blasts of magic.

"Brilliant plan," Rabastan quipped sarcastically as they half- lay in the trench, Brutus frowned and jabbed his wand at the sky. They were close enough that his spell disintegrated the retreat symbol at least, Rabastan sighed, "So much for a quick victory and an afternoon with Vathan."

"Well the thing is gone at least," Brutus pointed out, feeling a renewed determination to get out of this to see his own sons again, "We just need to not die and get you out to reorganize the army."

"Easier said than done."

"You said you removed some of the anti-apparation spells, can we apparate?"

"Not from here, we're too close to Hogwarts," Rabastan said with a shake of his head and flinched fearfully as part of their dirt wall exploded as it was struck by a jet of magic.

"How far away would we need to move to?" Brutus asked as he quickly clumped that part of wall back together, "Is it near? Is it in the realms of achievable?"

"We'd have to get to the twins or beyond them," Rabastan said with a sigh, "We wouldn't even be able to make it back, let alone getting closer to the epicenter of the barrier. We just have to wait it out and hope we don't get obliterated."

* * *

Scorpius and Varanian pelted through the corridors, Scorpius actually taking the lead as Varanian was running slower than usual which was understandable considering how badly his legs were shaking. Finally they tore onto the corridor where Calderon's room was, he was surprised at the assortment of people there though. There was Annie, Michael and Myriam as expected but for some reason Carver was there and strangest of all, Roman, who was a sobbing wreck on the ground. There was a gaping hole in the wall where it had clearly been blown open by the Shadows, hence the assortment of their bodies lying on the ground as they'd been felled. Everyone but Roman was staring out the gap, Scorpius and Varanian finally reached them.

"Roman, what the bloody hell are you doing here?!" Varanian demanded of the man breathlessly, Roman gave no indication of hearing him though as he continued to wail in misery, "What is wrong with him?"

"He's been like that since that woman was vaporized by the magic," Carver - of all people - provided.

"What woman?"

"Leila Akram," Annie offered, causing both Varanian and Scorpius to start in surprise.

"Why was she here? Why is he so disturbed by her death?" Varanian questioned but Annie shrugged, still staring out the gap, "Wait- What did you mean vaporized?"

Carver simply gestured to the gap they were looking out of, Scorpius and Varanian joined them in gazing out. He saw they had a very clear view of Calderon's duel with the Shadow Master from there, they were standing on the ground fighting now. He could only see their near-identical silhouettes through the mass of... light, he wasn't even sure how to describe it. On side was a blaze of pale yellow and on the other was a blaze of azure blue, torrents far taller and far wider than their casters were streaking towards each other and colliding directly in the center of the two figures. Where it collided was an ominous shade of grade, from there the bolts were shooting out. Like bolts of lightning, crackling and buzzing with power as they shot out at random angles. The ground was ripped up where they struck, chunks of Hogwarts crumbling when it hit the castle.

"They're far more evenly matched then I thought," Varanian mused and Scorpius tore his eyes away to glance at him, he was still watching, "Marius is so powerful, I didn't think someone without his unique early childhood could achieve the same results."

"You haven't figured it out yet?" Carver commented curiously and Scorpius turned his attempt to the boy, his eyes caught sight of the glazed eyes from the Shadows on the ground and a dark feeling welled inside him.

"You killed those Shadows, didn't you?" Scorpius asked of him and Carver's vibrant eyes met his.

"Yes."

"Maurice was right about you, you're a Shadow," Scorpius realized and raised his wand on Carver, the bully's eyes bulged in surprise and everyone else - bar Roman who continued to cry, not seeming aware of what was happening - did the same.

"I'm not a Shadow!" Carver protested angrily, "I fought them! I killed them!"

"You were trained by them though!" Scorpius snapped and Carver took on an ashamed expression as things started to slip into place, "You're as good as one of them, just like Ja- That was you, wasn't it?! You turned him evil! You've been poisoning his mind for years!"

"It's not like that! You've got it all wrong!" Carver insisted desperately, flailing his arms, "I tried to help James-"

"Help him by turning him into a Shadow just like you?!"

"No! I didn't want that for him! It was my Father, he manipulated him-

"What do you know?" Varanian interrupted, "About the Shadow Master, what haven't I figured out?"

"Why they magic uniquely like that," Carver told him and swallowed, "My uncle Pyrrhus told me that-"

"Pyrrhus?! Pyrrhus _Florian_ is your uncle?!" Michael exclaimed in shock and Carver nodded in confirmation, "The psychotic Shadow Transfiguration Professor who murdered the Headmistress, the Flying Instructor and Nick Longbottom?!"

"How many bloody people named Pyrrhus Florian do you think there are?!"

"I knew it!" a new voice spat and attention turned to behind Carver where Rutherford had emerged from that side of the corridor, wand also raised at Carver with a triumphant grin. He looked like he'd been in a fight, his robes were singed and torn and a bandaged wound was visible through the rip in his torso, "I knew you were bad, Edwards! Ever since that duel and how you can do Occlumency, a Shadow though... Despicable!"

"Shut up!" Carver screeched and faster than any of them could react, he'd spun with his wand raised and an explosive curse sent Rutherford flying unmercifully backwards and straight _through_ the wall, leaving a man-sized hole in the bricks.

"_Expelliarmus!_" Michael cried, apparently deciding Carver was too dangerous with a wand but Carver dodged it with ease.

"Let's all put our wands down, okay!?" Carver yelled as he jerked his wand, all of their wands - minus Roman who was still sobbing in a ball on the ground - flew from their hands to hover in the air behind him. Scorpius could only gape in shock as did Varanian, Michael and Myriam.

"What magic is this?!" Varanian demanded.

_"Accio wand!_" Annie cried at the same time and to Carver's immense surprise, her wand shot back to her hand which she aimed at Carver who turned his to her.

"Impressive," Carver commented, sounding very much as if he meant it, "You have a better command of wandless magic than most."

"Can you give us our wands back?" Scorpius asked of her pleadingly, feeling rather vulnerable without it.

"_Accio wands!_" Annie added and they twitched, looking focused which was a look Carver matched as if trying to counter it. No one won as the wands were randomly thrown up and down both directions of the corridors, "Well I tried."

"What is going on here?" a more welcome voice wondered from behind him and Scorpius turned to see Professor Ashain, looking surprisingly fine unlike the war-torn Rutherford.

"Carver's a Shadow," Michael blurted out and the professor's wand turned on his student immediately.

"NO! I'M NOT A SHADOW!" Carver screamed, specks of liquid flying from his eyes, "I DON'T WANT TO BE A SHADOW!"

"Annie!" Varanian cried suddenly and hauled her back with a horrified expression, just in time as one of the bolts had entered the gap and smashed into the wall. Carver bolted through the new gap.

"What is going on_ out_ there?!" Professor Ashain changed his question as he ran over to them, peering out the gap and gasping suddenly, "Brutus!"

"Wha- Professor Ashain!" Scorpius' changed halfway through as his favorite professor ran outside.

"Scorpius, no!" several people had cried but it was too late.

Before he'd even realized what he was doing, Scorpius had run after Professor Ashain to get him back. The thrum of magic outside was much louder and the crack of the bolts of magic echoed like thunderclaps in his eardrums, the damaged was also more noticeable as he leaped over varying degrees of scored or scorched earth as well patches of dirt thrown up as it tore chunks out of the ground.

He quickly realized where the professor was aiming for though, holed up in one of the deeper trenches was his brother and someone he'd only seen pictures of before: Rabastan Lestrange. Scorpius narrowly missed a zigzagging bolt that deafened him as it whizzed by his ear before throwing himself at the professor, avoiding another as they tumbled into the ditch with the other two who both jolted in shock.

"Atty? What are you doing here?" Brutus wondered of his brother in a tone of surprise before his grotesque face twisted up in a... scowl? "You could get hurt! Why did you even come out here?!"

"I was trying to save you," Professor Ashain admitted stupidly, looking very much like he realized his mistake while Rabastan raised an eyebrow.

"Great job saving us," Rabastan quipped sarcastically turning the professor's expression to anger as he raised his wand on the Shadow Lieutenant who hastily drew his with his bony fingers to do the same.

"I wasn't saving you anyway!"

"Oh calm down," Brutus complained, grabbing both their wands to lower them with his six-finger hands, "We have more life-threatening concerns right now then our petty differences."

"Which side on the war we're on isn't petty," Scorpius protested, very much wishing he had his own wand while another bolt showered them with dirt as it crashed through the crude earthy wall beside them which had Brutus' face twist again repulsively.

"The point is we shouldn't be fighting amongst ourselves right now, we should be focusing on working together to survive."

* * *

Tommy/Calderon had his feet firmly planted to the ground, they'd have to be because he felt he'd be lost in torrent of power otherwise. He couldn't hear anything over the intense rushing roar of the magic tearing through the air around him, he felt as if he was in the center of a storm. He could feel the pressure too, feel Sal's magic pushing back against his as they wrested to get through the other. He had to put up both hands as knew he'd be lost if he didn't.

Feeling the magic coursing through his body was the strangest sensation, on one hand it felt good. It felt so good to have the invigorating, euphoric energy flooding him. But at the same time, it was so intense that it had passed the point where it started to hurt into the point where it _did_ hurt. He felt as if it was burning through him, the magic searing through him. His body screamed for him to stop while also begging for more power. He couldn't see anything but yellow and blue but he knew Sal was on the other side, likely feeling the exact same agonizing wonder as him.

He caught sight of his hand though, his skin seemed to literally glow and he also noticed yellow tendrils light writhing beneath his pale flesh as if trying to break free. And they did, he felt the stab of pain as his skin literally tore open. A crack. A crack oozing blood. And it spread, in the nature of cracks it lengthened and split off into different branches. He knew he was going to die if he didn't stop, the power was literally going to tear him apart. But it would do the same to Sal...

He managed not to scream as he pushed more magic out of him, tears seeping from his eyes. Everyone kept telling him he had to kill his sister, something he could never bring himself to do outright. But maybe, just maybe he could bear to kill them both. Eliminate Voldemort's heirs from the world once and for all... They'd always be together after all, wouldn't they?

* * *

"Well what are we supposed to do?" Rabastan asked of no one in particular as he ran his hand through iron gray hair that suited him rather than making him look aged, "Did you have a plan beyond running out here?"

"No," Professor Ashain admitted as Brutus magically drug up more dirt to repair their weak wall.

"We'll just have to try waiting it out," Brutus spoke up and Scorpius almost wished they had killed him earlier, then they wouldn't be in their current predicament, "They'll have to stop soon, they'll destroy themselves if they keep this up."

"Maybe that's the point."

"What do you mean?" Rabastan wondered in confusion as another blast obliterated their wall again, Brutus repaired it again.

"Maybe Calderon is trying to kill them both," Professor Ashain elaborated sadly and Scorpius felt as if someone had poured icy water down his back, "After all, they can't win really. If one falters or tries to stop they'll be obliterated by the other's magic but if they keep going then they'll kill themselves."

"No!" Brutus barked frantically.

Scorpius thought the Shadow's deformed face only looked more grotesque with every different expression, Rabastan too looked as horrified as Scorpius felt. And not just at the thought of losing Calderon, recalling Ashylos' memory of Pancratius sacrificing himself to stop Herpo all too vividly. If they destroyed themselves then they wouldn't be the only casualties, Hogwarts would be toast and probably Hogsmeade too.

"Okay, I have a plan," Rabastan spoke up as he shifting to a crouching position instead of trying to literally lie low, "Since the apparation charms are removed where they are, theoretically if one of us could reach one of them then we could apparate them away so they couldn't destroy each other. I'm going to make a run for it, try to cover me although I'm not sure how much you can do against this raw power. We have to save them."

"Rab- Rabastan!" Brutus' tone mid-sentence as Rabastan didn't wait for an answer.

In a moment of suicidal bravery, Rabastan leaped up and over the small wall of dirt. He raced towards the battle, Scorpius saw it had only worsened in the minutes since he'd last looked. The torrent was now more like a massive dome now and he could no longer see the silhouettes of the pair dueling, just two intense lights of yellow and azure in the heart of their respective colors. Tendrils of magic were now shooting out everywhere, reminding him almost of a muggle plasma ball thing.

Scorpius watched as Rabastan tore desperately towards them, Brutus flicked his wand and a conjured a wall of concrete to shield him from one of the bolts. The wall was immediately turned to dust as the magic tore through it, Rabastan wasn't killed but he was still knocked back by the force of the blast and he screamed in agony as he was severely burned by the weak light, most of his face and hands blistering horribly. It disorientated him to say the least and in the next instant another bolt caught him, Scorpius was horrified - despite it being his enemy - to see the body disintegrating much like the wall. There was nothing left.

"NO!" Brutus cried, sounding genuinely upset and his face twisted up in another repulsive expression, "No, Rabastan, no!"

"Well... That happened," Professor Ashain commented awkwardly, looking somewhat disturbed before they had to duck as another blast shot over them. Brutus took a deep breath, refocusing on the task at hand.

"Cover me, Atty."

"I'm not doing that! It's suicide, just stay here and let them do what they have to and if the Shadow Lord Master of all Evil Darkness dies then so be it!" Professor Ashain snapped and Brutus gave his brother another expression, Scorpius found it hard to deduce what with the deformed features, "The war would be over."

"There's more to it than that! You don't understand..."

"No you don't," Scorpius spoke up and the Ashains turned to him in confusion as if they'd forgotten he was there, "We have to stop them."

"Scor, I care about Calderon too but if he's willing to do this then let him," Professor Ashain protested, "I'd sacrifice myself in a heartbeat to stop that monster, I'd be pissed off if I was in his position and someone stop-"

"No, you don't understand," Scorpius reiterated, "If they use magic like this they'll destroy themselves, not kill themselves, _destroy_ themselves because magic is part of the soul."

"True," Brutus confirmed.

"I saw Ashylos' memory of Pancratius doing something like that to defeat Herpo the Foul, it destroyed a lot more than just Herpo. The palace, the army, the radius of devastation was massive. If they destroy themselves then they'll take everyone here with them."

"Atty, you_ have_ to cover me!"

"No," Professor Ashain insisted.

"Did you not hear him?! Everyone will die! Your kids, the stude-"

"Covering you isn't going to do much more than it did for Rabastan!" Professor Ashain cut him off fiercely, "Our only shot if we're fast, agile and lucky. If we both run at them then the odds are higher one of us will make it."

"No, Atty, you can't do that," Brutus complained with a shake of his head, "You might get hurt."

"I'm not six years old anymore, Brutus!," Professor Ashain yelled at him incredulously, "Stop trying to protect me! I never asked for your protection and I don't want it! Now I'm going to run over there to try to stop this, deal with it because we don't have time for this."

"Fine," Brutus grumbled, sounding very unhappy about it as he got in position to move, "Ready?"

"Rea- Wait a minute, I won't need my wand for this," Professor Ashain stopped turned to Scorpius, handing him his wand surprisingly, "If I- If I die then give that to Cassia and tell my kids I love them."

"Now!"

At Brutus' cry, they both leaped over the edge and tore off in different directions. Scorpius wished he could do more than clutch the professor's wand uselessly and watch with his heart clenched, anxious about Calderon, Professor Ashain and the consequences of failure. The Ashains were faster than Rabastan though, Brutus had his brother's incredible reflexes too and they both managed to weave through the murderous tendrils of violent light before throwing themselves at the glowing figures. There were two simultaneous deafening cracks as they both disapparated, the professor with the yellow - probably - Calderon and Brutus with the azure - probable master. The light, the damage, the dome, the tendrils, the sound it all vanished in an instant.

Silence.

Scorpius stood up hesitantly and gazed at the ruin left in their wake, a perfect and huge circle of scorched, smoking earth where the duel had taken place. All around remained the other patches of torn ground, groves and trenches, burned grass and broken bits of fallen stone assorted randomly across the grounds of Hogwarts. Scorpius thought it smelled like death and when he looked up, he saw the sky was crimson. Which was - fittingly enough - the color of blood that had been spilled that day but it was over. For now at least, it was over. The battle was won but the war went on.

* * *

Atticus had realized his foolish mistake as soon as he had ran out to help Brutus, he had no plan, no way of safely getting back and no real reason to even aid his brother after the things Brutus had done. He hated himself for still caring. Ultimately his decision ended up with him making a beeline for his glowing friend while Brutus charged towards his master, Ashain agility came in handy and Atticus managed to reach him. He threw himself at the figure of light, feeling pain rip through of him as every part of him in contact with Calderon's body burned but he disapparated regardless.

His cry of pain was lost in the sensation of them both being shoved through a tube, the momentum carried them and they hit the ground as they landed. His body bounced as he tumbled gratefully off Calderon, aggravating his new-found burns but no longer worsening them. His entire right side was burned, from his calf up to the side of his face. He lay on his back, breathing heavily from the exertion as the cool afternoon air caressed his worn body. He'd taken them to the spot the train had stopped that time when the train had been sabotaged, it was close and the first place that popped into his head.

Despite the searing pain, the disgusting scent of his own burnt flesh and discomfort of some random rock sticking into his back, he could very easily have closed his eyes and slept. Intense and relentless dueling took it out of you, or maybe he was just getting old. He glanced at Calderon, apparation had disrupted his magic and he lay unconscious but noticeably breathing with all magic light craziness ceasing. He noticed Calderon had the strangest series of wounds though, like cuts but they were like cracks. Odd. He heard a crack and jolted upright, foolishly going to draw the wand he'd given to Scorpius in readiness. Brutus. He was bearing an identical set of burns on his left side.

"Atty..." Brutus spoke his nickname with relief and Atticus got to his feet.

"What do you want?" Atticus snapped darkly, trying to remember the awful crimes not the good times and he felt his heart twist at the conflict.

"Wanted to make sure you were alright," Brutus answered uncharacteristically quietly, "I know you don't want my protection, Atty, but I'll love you and I'll always give it."

"You _can't!_" Atticus protested in frustration, throwing up his arms and regretting it from the pain it caused from stretching the right burns, "This is a _war_, Brutus, you can't keep trying to save both sides and both people. You have to make a choice and stick with it!"

"Well I won't have to be divided when you and Father come to your senses and join us."

"I will _never_ join you, Brutus! Ever! Blood is important but so is sticking by your beliefs, my belief is what the Shadows are doing is wrong and I'll never stop fighting that," Atticus told him seriously and Brutus looked away upset, he swallowed before continuing, "What are your beliefs? I could tell you were serious back there, you genuinely didn't want a load of people to die on top of your master and Calderon. Do you not realize that what the Shadow Master is doing is hurting people? Killing people? Lots of people, a whole damn country! And it's only going to get worse, the death toll is only going to get higher. Is that really what you want?"

"No," Brutus admitted weakly and turned back to him, "But what's the alternative?! Stab other people I care about in the back so we can rot in prison or die?! And for what?! For a world of horrible people?!"

"The world isn't perfect but this isn't the way," Atticus insisted, "And you don't have to go to prison. You could make a deal with Harry, immunity in exchange for your cooperation, your aid and information could do wonders. You'd still have to turn on them but you have to, you can try and convince yourself that this is the right thing but I know you know it's not! Deep down you know that and nothing you can do is going to change that."

"You're wrong, the world will be better in the end."

"Better for who, Brutus? The people or the Shadow Master?"

"It will be better," Brutus reiterated quietly, looking on the verge of tears as he turned away again but didn't answer the question.

"You're in a position to do great good or great evil, you just have to pick which one you think is worth fighting for," Atticus told him seriously and Brutus glanced at him once more.

"It will better and I'll save you and Dad, you'll see it," Brutus whispered tearfully before disapparating away, "I promise you'll see."


	17. Chapter 17: The Choices We Have

_**Parts (70-72)**_

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**V  
**

**Chapter 17  
**

The Choices We Have

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**Part 1: **Bad Fathers

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James was enjoying himself, the Shadows were treating him much nicer than his father had. He'd been given a spacious apartment all to himself as opposed to a filthy, small cell for starters. There was a large living area, plenty of comfortable couches and armchairs to choose from positioned around a warm fire - should he desire it lit - which led onto a balcony through some glass sliding doors with more nice furniture to relax in and a lovely view of the sunset. The bedroom was also nice, there was a large double and very cozy bed for him to sleep in and the bathroom was also amazing, spacious with the usual pristine amenities but leading off from that was his favorite room in the place: the hot tub room. It was blissful and relaxing, he could almost forget his worries. The kitchen was big too, a nice oak table to sit at to eat and plenty of food for a snack.

The best feature though, had to be his servant. Well, _technically_ he was a slave but that made it just seem cruel. Yannis was his name, he was around James' age and a native of Greece - the country James had been brought to - although his English was flawless if accented. He was slightly taller than James but also much thinner, he got the impression Yannis wasn't fed well. He was still almost good looking though, his skin smooth and a radiant shade of olive. He had large, heavy-lidded and long-lashed eyes that were the shade of stone, a perfectly straight nose, thin lips and quite an angular face which all was framed by dark course curls. He was lacking muscles though and his face was ruined by a cross, a large brand scarring his right cheek. He always wore dull gray robes and sandals styled - appropriately enough - like ones from Ancient Greece, or some other ancient country... James had never liked history too much.

Yannis was brilliant though, he cleaned up after James and made sure the place was always pristine. That was something James appreciated after the filthy cell. He cooked all James' meals for him - they were of decent quality - and any snacks or drinks he wanted, he'd even bring them to James. He really could have everything he wanted, if they didn't have the ingredients for something then Yannis could order it via owl and there were plenty of cookbooks for Yannis to learn. He was also someone to talk to as James hadn't seen Carver or anyone really, Xerxes had introduced him to Yannis and shown him around before leaving. He'd visited once to make sure James was doing alright and his slave was working out properly, if James apparently it was no issue to replace Yannis. He was being given a few days to relax before training apparently, his wand was being recovered soon. Yannis was also a good source of information.

"After that we were split up," Yannis told him one of the days as James ate, he'd been telling him how the Shadows took Athens, the teen's expression solemn, "Muggles were taken separately, they used their wands to give us these brands so we are marked as the magic-less. We were then split up further by age and gender, moved to different parts of the city and anyone who was difficult was killed without hesitation. That's what they did to my friend, the one whose house I was at when the attack happened. He asked about his family and they killed him because we are expendable. We were told about magic, filled in about it and its history and how it works. I had no idea before then, I thought magic was just for little children to believe in. They also explained our role, how we are worthless because we were not born with magic and will now be slaves to those who were because they are better than us."

"I'm sorry," James offered somewhat apologetically, "I don't really believe the whole pure-blood thing."

"But you are one of the Soul Eaters," Yannis said in his soft-spoken voice, looking quite confused, "That is their belief- no, that is the truth and we have to accept it. Or die."

James did get the impression that Yannis was slightly dramatic, he seemed to think he could be killed at any moment for disobedience or a mistake. He was sure the Shadows couldn't be _that_ bad despite their slightly skewed beliefs, they'd saved James after all. Yannis was a bit of a downer, he never smiled and walked around as if there was no hope left in the world, he was quite pitiful really. He was quiet and obedient but not very cheerful, didn't joke around like kids in Hogwarts. Maybe it was a muggle thing. It could be worse in James' opinion, Yannis was just a servant after all but James had been _expelled. _And arrested. And put in a cramped, dirty cell. And had his whole family turn on him. He'd almost gone to jail. That was much worse.

As much as he tried not to think about it, lying awake at night his thoughts did tend to drift to his family and friends, the sting of betrayal and horror of that tiny cell. He also worried about his future, uncertain that he'd done the right thing in leaving and joining the Shadows. When he considered the options available to him at the time though, he felt that he had made the right choice. Whatever concerns or regrets he might have, at least he was having them instead of rotting away for the rest of his life. He missed his wand too, it was even stranger to be back in a normal environment and not have it then it had been in prison.

"Master James, you have a visitor," Yannis informed him abruptly, jolting James from his thoughts as he sat out on the balcony watching the shimmering sun sink into the velvety red sky, "Master Xerxes Seneca."

"Send him in," James agreed readily and gestured as if for him to do so, Yannis went back inside to comply and James moved back into the sitting room. He rather enjoyed ordering his servant about, he wondered if that made him a bad person.

"James, my boy, how are you doing?!" Xerxes greeted him enthusiastically as he strode in behind Yannis with a beaming smile, he was holding - bizarrely enough - a bundle of blankets in one arm that looked suspiciously like a baby.

"Erm... Okay," James offered, still confused and the bundle cooed as if to confirm his suspicions, "Is that a baby?"

"Yes," Xerxes confirmed excitedly and his grin widened further to show off his pearly perfect teeth even more, he moved over to him to show him the small, ugly wrinkled face squished into the pastel blue blankets. The baby had its eyes open, the same striking shade of violet as Xerxes, "This is my newest child, little Xerxes junior. Am I good at creating beautiful life or what?"

"Yeah," James agreed with a nod, thinking more of how handsome Carver was rather then the baby. He missed Carver, "Is that what you came here to talk to me about?"

"What? No," Xerxes said, losing his smile as he shook his head, "I just didn't want to waste the time with my son by leaving him but I wanted to be the one to talk to you, I'd never turn my back on you like lesser men would."

"Thank you," James offered gratefully, thinking bitterly how his own father had turned his back without a second's thought but something about the sentence gave him pause for thought, "Do you consider my Father a lesser man?"

"Yes I do," Xerxes confirmed with a nod readily, surprisingly James, "His efforts in stopping Voldemort may have been brave, noble and even admirable but he is not that now is he? If he was brave then he would have stood by you, if he was noble he would view his children equally not put the others about you, what is admirable about his recent actions? His past deeds are heroic but the man himself is not, he either never was or he lost himself along the way. Wouldn't you agree?"

"I- Yeah," James agreed, realizing it made sense and that he really had nothing to say in his dad's defense. Harry Potter was no hero anymore, he felt anger twist inside him at the truthful statement and felt a fool for ever admiring him, "Why are you here then? When am I going to get to do something?"

"It's good you say that because your training begins today."

"Training?" James repeated, somewhat surprised again.

"While you do have an exceptional amount of natural talent, your skills are lacking. Through no fault of your own, of course, but merely the inferior education you've had in Hogwarts that is still incomplete due to your wrongful expulsion," Xerxes explained and James nodded in understanding, feeling quite flattered at the praise. At least some people noticed, "Your dueling technique will be honed, your apparation and non-verbal magic perfected, you'll also be taught other techniques that Hogwarts wouldn't teach."

"Like-Like Dark Magic?" James wondered worriedly, knowing it was evil.

"Some people call it that," Xerxes mused thoughtfully, "But is it _really_ Dark, James? Is any magic really inherently good or evil? No. It's like saying hands are evil because they _could_ be used for bad things, to punch or to strangle or wield a wand for evil. They can be used for good things too though, to give food to a dying man or to pet a loyal dog or wield a wand for good. Knowledge in itself isn't bad, merely how it's used and you'll be the one using it so it's your choice whether to use 'Dark' Magic for good or bad. Only use it when _you_ feel it's justified because it is entirely up to you, you won't be forced to. Do you understand?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I do," James admitted, it made sense although he as a bit hesitant still. His dad had used Unforgivable Curses after all, Aurors were permitted to just like Shadows were. It was quite hypocritical actually now that he thought of it, claiming Dark Magic was evil when they used it too.

Xerxes put a hand on his shoulder and James immediately felt them hurtling through space, feeling as if he was being shoved down a tube. He thought it was a wonder that of all the ways to magically travel, wizards had yet to invent one that was comfortable and didn't require getting used to. He had been learning apparation as lessons started after Christmas so it didn't feel as bad but still, idly he realized that he'd never be able to get his apparation license now that he was a fugitive. He wondered how his friends were getting on with it, Carver had excelled but the others were average - like James - to poor.

They reappeared in a dark corridor, lit dimly by crackling torches lining the walls. There were no windows, reminding him of the Slytherin dungeons except the brick was much different. They were darker and browner though, smaller as well and seemed rather compact. There were doors leading off from it, old oak that was arched not rectangular for presumably aesthetic purposes, they were quite wide doors too with dark metal hinges. James jolted in surprise as he noticed some of them had small rectangles carved into the upper areas, these were barred. Baby Xerxes started crying, silencing James' barely formed question as to where he was and what specifically he'd be learning.

"Oh come on, you like apparation," Xerxes cooed as he cradled his son but the baby only cried louder as if to disagree.

"Honestly, Dad, you brought a baby here?" a new voice asked and James spun to see an unfamiliar man approaching them, he looked to be in his early twenties.

"He's your baby brother," Xerxes pointed out, confirming the man had to be one of Xerxes' children and one of Carver's half-siblings. He didn't bare obvious resemblance to either, he had a kind of grimy look to him with short dark hair that looked greasy and coal colored eyes, he was lankier too. He did have the same square jaw though and was quite tall.

"I know, you've already shown me him. Twice," the man stated and his dark eyes darted to James, a crooked smile playing on his face, "You're new though. You must be Carver's friend, the son of the great Harry Potter?"

"James," James introduced himself, for once in his life not proud of his parentage, "And you are?"

"Stephan Hunter," the man offered, reaching out his hand for James to shake. He did so but noticed dirt and a redder substance that looked like blood under his fingernails.

"My eldest," Xerxes added, still struggling to calm his youngest, "Would you take him to Einarr for me, Steph? I'll pick you up later, James, alright?"

"Sure."

"Alright," James agreed and Xerxes vanished with a crack, "So where to?"

"This way," Stephan said and decisively started leading him through the corridors, occasionally passing other people including servants with crosses on their right cheeks like Yannis, "So Einarr's teaching you, huh?"

"I... guess. Who is he?" James wondered curiously, feeling a bit more nervous now that Xerxes was gone.

"_She_ is an Elite," Stephan pointed out and James waited for him to elaborate but he didn't, he seemed to think that was enough.

"That's it?"

"She's the youngest to pass the test at eleven," Stephan added thoughtfully, not seeming to realize James had no idea what test he was talking about, "Bitch beat me by a year."

"And?"

"Not much else to say about her. Elites tend to be the same, devoid of personality and emotion. Dedicated soldiers not people like you and me, they drive the humanity out of them," Stephan explained dismissively, "Surprised Carver's not here, he's always talking about you. Then again, he's soft, he is. Didn't pass his test until he was _fourteen_ and has been spending a lot of time with Uncle Pyrrhus lately, the guy's bat-shit bonkers."

"James!" a familiar voice gasped and James froze in shock as he saw Heather Longbottom walking up the opposite side of the corridor to them, wasn't she supposed to be in the Bahamas? Of all the people he had expected to be Shadows, Neville's eldest daughter wasn't one of them. Her expression was sad though, "They got you too, huh?"

"What? Oh yeah, they-they did," James muttered, noticing she seemed out of sorts.

Her blond curls were matted with filth, her pale eyes sunken into blank bags and even her dress looked dirty. For being something of a girlie girl, it wasn't like her. He didn't even think she was wearing makeup. Before she could reply though, Stephan had lashed out with his wand. Heather gave a yelp of pain and was knocked against the wall, clutching at her now bloody shoulder.

"Did I give you permission to speak?!" Stephan raged at her.

"N-"

Heather made to answer as she tried to straighten herself up but Stephan had slashed his wand at her again, he cried out in pain again and fell back against the wall. This had torn more of the dress sleeve beneath her first wound, James saw a livid welt oozing blood that had been left by Stephan's wand. He also noticed an assortment of scars and half-healed wounds beneath the fresh one, it likely wasn't the first time.

"Did I give you permission to answer my question?!" Stephan screamed at her and Heather said nothing, keeping her head hung as she shook his slowly. Stephan slashed his wand a third time, cutting another wound through her arm, "Answer me with words!"

"But you just said-" James started to say as Stephan jabbed his thumb behind them coldly as if dismissing her, Heather scampered away without another word and Stephan watched her with lecherous eyes and a sadistic smirk.

"_Exactly_," Stephan interrupted, starting walking again with a dark glint in his eyes as he turned back to him laughing, "She's one of those with a Specter inside her, she has to do what we say or it'll destroy her soul and we'll murder her family. Its so fun having power over people, Specter-possessed and slaves have to obey _everything_ you say and do _whatever_ you want. They're great to screw with or just to hurt, you can even kill slaves because they're worthless."

"I know Heather..." James said quietly, he'd never exactly been close to her but still. She was a family friend and unlike the rest of them, she hadn't turned on him as far as he knew.

"And? You knew those children you beat up too."

"They deserved it."

"These people deserve it too, anyone with an impure soul like the possessed or muggles - they don't have magic in their souls like we do - deserve it," Stephan pointed out, looking quite psychotic, "Just wait, James, once you get a taste of blood and see the fear in their eyes... You'll be running for you wand too, feels good to have power, to be strong and I think you know that. You tried to be a good little boy but you're not, nothing wrong with being bad just with being weak."

"I-"

"We're here," Stephan cut him off in a sing-song voice as he opened one of the doors, James wandered inside the dark room and Stephan closed the door behind him, "Have fun!"

"James Sirius Potter?" a crisp but young female voice spoke out.

"Y-Yeah," James confirmed as he turned away from the door, just in time to scramble to grab a wand that had been thrown at him.

Not a just a wand but _his_ wand, he grinned inwardly at the familiar instrument's return. He'd missed it, he hated feeling powerless... Maybe Stephan had some point about power being good. He looked up at his surroundings and saw he was in a dark chamber of the same brick as the corridor, it even had the same lack of windows and dim torches on the walls. The floor flagged black stone like the corridor as well but unlike it, there was a wooden chair in the center of the room that looked quite sturdy.

There were two people in the room with him. Upon the chair sat a middle aged man, his hair graying and his face worn. He had the same brand on his cheek as the other servants and wore the same robes too, James was somewhat surprised to realize as he drew nearer that the man was actually bound to the chair. Beside it stood a teenage girl who couldn't be any older than James himself, her skin was cream-colored but her shoulder-length hair raven-black in contrast. She was petite but dressed in dull brown robes, her sharp eyes were set in heart-shaped, blank face and glinted in the darkness. He didn't find anything of note about her face beyond a button nose but her hands were interesting, they were scarred with hundreds of overlapping letters and numbers of varying sizes.

"My name is Kalli Einarr, I will be instructing you today," the girl stated in her clear, crisp voice as James reached her, "You will be learning to torture."

"T-To torture?" James repeated in surprise.

"Did I stutter? Yes, torture," Einarr confirmed, not sounding angry or rhetorical, "Considering your predilection for assault, my superiors thought it would be a good place to start."

"Torture's a little different to assault."

"Indeed, you'll find they have separate entries in any dictionary," Einarr point out, again her words devoid of the sarcasm he might've expected. She sounded as if she was simply stating facts, "You are not learning about assault today, you will be learning about torture with the help of our assistant. Andreas here, has kindly volunteered."

"I don't think I _want_ to torture people."

"What you want is not relevant," Einarr brushed it off expressionlessly before continuing seamlessly, "Torture is a method used to extract information, because of this it is important to remember that your victim needs to be capable of comprehending your demands and of complying with them. It is generally a good idea to stay away from the face because of this, if you must then leave the ears alone so they can hear and mouth so they can breathe and speak, the eyes as well if visual cues will be necessary. Remember to stop and repeat your questions every so often, give them a chance to respond as some can find it hard to reply because of the pain. We will talk about the best way to phrase questions later though.

"Your victim also needs to be alive to answer so never use a wand tainted so that it cannot be healed, permanent injury is allowed but they still need to be alive and this is easier if any healing necessary can be done. Sometimes rewarding cooperation with healing some major pain is also a good technique so that is another reason, make sure you know where a healer is and can contact them easily just in case. Killing is not allowed, even if they give you what you want. It needs to be confirmed and they could be useful later, a superior must give you permission to kill before you do so.

"With torture, it is standard to start off with the Torture Curse. Some give in but some resist, sanity is also important so you must not torture them into insanity. If they do not give in during the designated time, you move on to causing physical harm to continue inflicting pain without the risk of insanity or mix it up with both. For today, you will just be learning the Cruciatus Curse. The incantation is _Crucio_, the wand movement is to simply point it at the target and you have to want to inflict pain upon then," Einarr recounted and aimed her wand at the man in the chair, there was a flash of red and the next thing he was writhing again his bounds and screaming. He slumped forward when Einarr lowered her wand, her expression unchanged during the entire session, "See? It is quite simply. Now you try."

"Xerxes said I don't have to do anything I don't want to do," James pointed out quietly, uncertain about torturing a random stranger. Although the servant had volunteered, maybe he was insane?

"I imagine Xerxes also said you have to know how to do it first, unless you try it then you do not know if you are capable. Try it," Einarr told him, saying the last two words in a strangely darker tone that made it sound like a threat.

James swallowed nervously as he raised his wand to the stranger in the chair, the man was still shuddering from his ordeal and tears were rolling freely down his cheek. He just needed to do it once to prove it and then move on, he could just pretend the man was someone who deserved it. Like his father for trying to throw him in jail, or Leebin for abandoning him.

"_Crucio!_" James cried as he willed the pain upon Leebin.

To his surprise, it worked. A jet of red shot out to strike the man, he started screaming and convulsing. Well Leebin _did_ deserve it, the screams only increased as his body jolted violently. James allowed his anger to infuse him and course out through his wand instead of his fist, the rush of power was exhilarating really. Both from using magic and from inflicting pain on some traitor who deserved it, he liked it although he had to resist the urge to strike his foe. Maybe… Maybe torture wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

Pyrrhus Florian stood in his brother's office, the wood-paneled walls were closed and the thick green drapes were closed. The window was opposite the entrance and the desk was near the window but facing the door, it was the same dark, shiny wood as the walls and rather large. There were some dressers lining the walls, a scattering of photographs across them and the occasional plant for a bit of green. The floor had a thick green carpet that was soft underfoot, his brother didn't like him walking on it barefooted though. He was standing on one of the sides staring idly at the photographs beside the plant, rather unfortunately as he didn't like plants but his brother didn't like him to move his things either.

His dad had been a gardener so plants reminded him of Linden, anyone in that field tended to earn his dislike for the same reason. That was why he'd hated the Herbology professor so much, he'd always pretended to be so nice while secretly was a terrible father. Linden had also pretended to be nice after all, he was so kind and doting, he'd do anything for his children... except stop, no matter how much they begged and cried. Bad fathers didn't deserve to have children. Life was a gift after all, babies were born innocent. The only time humans ever were good and pure, at some point before adulthood they would turn evil but infants were innocent. Parents should be glad for that gift when the rest of the world was evil, they should try to preserve it and protect them, appreciate it. Not destroy them like his dad had done, not abandon them like his mum had done. Good to evil was a one way street after all, white souls could turn black but black could never turn white.

"Which do you think looks better?" his brother asked of him.

Pyrrhus spun in surprise to his Xerxes sitting at his desk, he'd forgotten he was there. His hand went to his wand to assure himself he was there as he approached his brother, a spark of fear igniting in his heart. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't _not_ feel afraid when he was alone with a man regardless of who they were. Not that women were good, everyone was evil but he wasn't afraid the same way he was with men. Both men and women were bad, both muggles and wizards bad, both Soul Eaters and those who opposed them, regardless of what they looked like outside they were evil inside. He'd learned a long time ago that people only existed to cause him pain because all people were evil. Some people were openly bad, others pretended to be nice but they weren't. They were the worst, trying to gain your trust then stab you in the back, it just made it hurt more. Xerxes was like that, he'd saved him from his father just to give him to the Soul Eaters, it was like pulling someone from a fire just to throw them off a cliff. Xerxes didn't seem to understand why he wasn't grateful.

"I like this one better but it has me in it and I don't have myself in the pictures on my desk," Xerxes continued, holding up two photographs of his youngest child.

"You could just magic out yourself," Pyrrhus offered disinterestedly, his eyes drifting to the other pictures on his desk which included only eight of his children. Oathan wasn't there for some reason, why did everyone have it out for the poor kid? "Why don't you have a picture of Oathan?"

"Because Alzay... Wait, Alzay's dead isn't she?" Xerxes started to answer but changed mid-sentence as he seemed to remember that, Pyrrhus nodded in confirmation. He felt somewhat glad she was dead, she was a horrible, cruel person after all and an abysmal mother but he also felt somewhat sad, he didn't want to be alone. As much as he despised humanity, he also craved companionship, "Well then I guess it's alright to tell you this then."

"Tell me what?" Pyrrhus wondered, his eyes drifting to the captivating candle on the desk where the colors were flickering through each other. It had been the source of his name actually, Joel had tried to burn him as a newborn but he'd magically protected himself and harmed Joel instead. Or so he was told. Pyrrhus was Greek, his mother's native country.

"Oathan's not my son," Xerxes announced and Pyrrhus attention snapped back to him as if pulled by a magnet, "He's yours, Alzay didn't want you to know so she asked a favor of me."

Pyrrhus stared at his half-brother expressionlessly while his mind tried to wrap itself around this new information, Oathan was his child? It did explain a lot, Alzay didn't like him and she wouldn't like Oathan being a half-blood hence the unwarranted hatred. Xerxes' familial love didn't extend much beyond what had come from his own loins hence the indifference. He also felt anger welling inside him, Oathan was his son and no one had told him. He'd been denied the right to care for his son, been denied the chance to protect him. With a pang of horror he realized that he too was a terrible father, well no more.

"Did you hear me?" Xerxes inquired curiously.

"I heard you," Pyrrhus growled furiously, his teeth bared and his expression twisted into such a snarl that his brother recoiled, "I have a son and you didn't tell me, you didn't protect him."

"I'm telling you know!" Xerxes protested with an irritable scowl, "Honestly you're the most ungrateful person, after all I've done for you..."

"What?! What have you ever done for me?!" Pyrrhus snapped at him angrily, "My skin is all scarred because of _you!_ I was tortured because of _you!_ They turned into a killing machine because of _you!_ And now my son is going through the same because of _you!_"

"I_ saved_ you! I gave you the chance to be a_ wizard_ that your father denied you! Or have you forgotten that you were _nothing_ before I took you from that hellhole?!" Xerxes spat back, Pyrrhus didn't think the good outweighed the bad though, one act of kindness for years of suffering, "Oathan is three years old! He's not going to remember any of this anyway, raise him however you want!"

"I will! And I'm going to start by protecting him, by showing I'm not going to let anyone hurt him! Or get away with hurting him, _Avada Kedavra!_"

Xerxes' face barely had time to register his surprise as Pyrrhus whipped out his wand - with the speed the blasted Training Tower had taught him - and fired at his brother before he could react, watched the green light consume the world and leave with Xerxes' life. He still looked surprised.

Pyrrhus burst into tears, dropped his wand to bury his face in his hands as he cried. He'd killed his brother, he'd killed his own brother. He felt the loss rip him up inside, his body shaking from the sobs wracking it. He fell to his knees, wrapping his arms protectively around himself. He was a horrible person, he was a monster. He was evil just like everyone else, except he was cursed with realizing it and caring.

He'd been a good boy, he had. He'd admired people like Winston Churchill and Abraham Lincoln, great leaders who'd helped change the world. He preferred them to Superheroes - something he'd been ridiculed for by his cruel classmates - because they were real, great people could be real too. He'd clung to the childish delusion if he just persevered, just held on and tried his best like a good little boy then it would be okay in the end.

He was evil now though, if he met Churchill or Lincoln then they'd hate him. Unless they were evil too, that thought was just soul destroying. The Soul Eaters had destroyed any hope he had. His brother had too, his own brother who he'd just killed... It was for a good reason though, he had to do it for his son. He had to kill them, he had to kill them all.

Pyrrhus laughed with delight, cackling madly as he stood and his wand flew obediently back into his hand. He had to kill them all! Kill the horrible bastards who'd hurt him, kill them like he'd often ended up fantasizing. He paused and slotted the picture of both Xerxes' into the waiting frame, he figured since he was dead that it would be okay for him to be in the picture and placed it with the others.

He then skipped out of the room, humming to himself as he danced through the halls. He entered the first classroom he came across, a class of future soldiers were hunched over parchments stained by their own blood. The teacher turned to look at him but the Killing Curse had already been fired, feeling a surge of joy that one of his torturers was dead.

He headed back out and continued on, going through rooms and taking out the Soul Eaters teaching them. If they didn't want to be murdered by one of the monsters they created then they shouldn't go around creating monsters, should they? He methodically went through, killing all the staff and leaving the students unharmed. He saved Oathan's class for last, taking great pride in killing the bastard before his son's own eyes. He wanted Oathan to see he was going to protect him.

He quickly located the vibrant crimson hair and went over to his son, he picked Oathan up and sat him down on the edge of his desk before finally drinking in his child's appearance. Oathan had identical violently violet eyes to himself, the same hair except his was shorter and had a slight wave to it like Alzay's had had. Pyrrhus liked his hair long, the Soul Eaters and his father liked it short so he wanted the opposite. Oathan had soft features like his mother, the flawless skin that could've been airbrushed but he thought the jaw shape and bone structure was more like him. It certainly wasn't like Xerxes, Xerxes was- had been robust while Pyrrhus was unfortunately more slight like Oathan.

The scars didn't go unnoticed, livid fresh wounds on his hands from the blood quill overlapping a year's worth of scarring that would extend to more of his body beneath the itchy robes he wore and he knew Alzay had given him the Shadow Mark. She'd also scarred his face, one vertical going down his cheek from beside his eye - on the ear side not near his nose - and the second one horizontal, going beneath his eye and intersecting with the other scar like some kind of cross shape. One for his second birthday, one for his third. Sadly, Pyrrhus traced the scars with his finger, feeling guilty he hadn't been able to protect him from his mother. It also didn't go unnoticed that his son had tired, shadowed, sad eyes already.

"Unc-"

"I'm not your uncle, it turns out there was a mistake. I'm your Dad not your uncle," Pyrrhus interrupted and his son nodded, probably not quite grasping this significance but then Xerxes hadn't made much effort as a fake dad.

"Daddy, why did you kill Master Wolfe?" Oathan asked, his voice so childish and innocent that Pyrrhus wanted to cry.

He turned away from his son, hot tears leaking down his face. He had been like Oathan once, small and innocent, young and defenseless. How could his father have hurt him in the sick way he had? Why would anyone _want_ to hurt a child? Sometimes it may be_ necessary_ as part of torture to extract information or prove a point but he still never_ wanted_ to do that, he certainly would never do what his father did even if his life depended on it. He choked on a sob at the thought of his father again and the horrific thought of Oathan having to go through that, no one had protected him as a child, no one had even tried. It would be different for Oathan.

"Because he hurt you," Pyrrhus growled, turning back to him so fast tears flew from his face, "I'm your Dad now and I'm not going to let anyone hurt you, ever again. If anyone wants to harm you then they'll have to get over my dead or unconscious body and if I'm unconscious then when I wake up I'd hunt them to the ends of the Earth, no one has a right to hurt you and anyone who dares will not get away with it. Is there anyone else who's hurt your or been mean to you?"

"Andy Zuckerman maked fun of my face," Oathan admitted, hanging his head sadly and out of the corner of his eye, Pyrrhus noticed a boy's eyes bulge several seats down.

"You think my son's face is funny, do you?!" Pyrrhus spat at the boy, leaping the distance between them.

"No!" the child squeaked fearfully.

"_Don't_ lie to me! You think his face is funny do you, huh?!"

"I sorry! I sorry! I not do again! Don't hurt!" Andy Zuckerman pleaded desperately, large tears already filling his eyes, "Don't hurt! Please!"

Pyrrhus stepped back hesitantly, the youngest person he'd killed was Nick Longbottom and he did seem sufficiently scared. He glanced back to Oathan though, he was still perched on the edge of the table watching with sad, hurt-filled eyes. Age didn't matter, Andy Zuckerman had clearly already taken his evil turn and he'd upset his son. He couldn't let it go unpunished.

"_Avada Kedavra_," Pyrrhus whispered without taking his eyes off his son, he saw the flash of green and heard the thud as the boy's body hit the ground, "Anyone else?"

"No," Oathan said with a shake of his head, looking quite shocked.

"Good," Pyrrhus grinned and scooped his son up, "Come on then, we're leaving."

"Real?" Oathan wondered, sounding very much as if he was hardly daring to hope.

"Real."

"Thank so much, Unc- Daddy," Oathan offered, every syllable dripping with relief, "I not like. They hurt. I not like be hurt."

"I know you don't."

"Can Vathan come with us?"

"No," Pyrrhus shot him down and sensed rather than saw his face fall, "Vathan isn't here right now, we can't wait."

It actually was quite true, anyone returning with Vathan would undoubtedly bring the wrath of the Shadows down on him and he couldn't go get him as he wasn't a hundred percent sure where he was. Plus he was with powerful people. In fact, what _was_ he going to do?

There was no way he was going to be able to continue life with the Soul Eaters, not after he'd just killed the Training Tower staff. Murdering a bunch of their own members was kind of frowned upon, an unforgivable offense really and he didn't have anything to offer to make up for it nor did he think they'd accept his reasoning as justified. As much as he hated them, they had been his life for a long time and under their protection. He wasn't entirely sure what to do without them. In hindsight, a killing spree was possibly not the best decision he'd ever made before in his life.

The Ministry was after him since he'd murdered a bunch of people in Hogwarts as well, it was bad enough with one but having both sides of the coin after him was not the most ideal environment to raise his son. _Although_ unlike with the Soul Eaters, he might have something to offer to make up for it. He knew a fair bit about the Soul Eaters operations, if he moved fast then they might even be able to save all this potential soldiers in the Training Tower. And most importantly of all, he knew the Shadow Master's identity. Question was: was that enough for immunity for his 'crimes' and protection for him and Oathan?

Only one way to find out.

* * *

Brutus strode into the nursery eagerly, relieved to finally be able to see his sons as he'd had to wait to be healed. Thankfully the burns weren't too severe, the pain was gone at least and there was little to no scarring. With any luck the same could be said for Atticus, he had no desire for his brother to suffer. He shoved thoughts of the day aside though, right now he just wanted to cuddle his children.

"Brutus!" a painfully young and painfully happy voice greeted him.

Brutus paused midway towards the cribs to turn to Vathan, Rabastan's four year old son. He crouched down to the boy's level, his hair was as dark as his father's before graying and his eyes a mossy color that Rabastan claimed were just like his own mother's. His eyes were so full of hope and his smile was beaming, he hadn't realized just how much Vathan had his father's smile until that moment. Clearly he hadn't been told yet and Brutus felt his heart twist up in anguish, both at the loss of his friend and the knowledge he'd have to break it to his son. If Brutus hadn't come up with his stupid plan then Vathan would still have a father, he felt a rush of anger towards both himself and the world as imagined the victory at Hogwarts. He wondered if anyone knew or even cared that Rabastan had been a father as well a Soul Eater.

"Looks, I drawed a picture for Daddy," Vathan told him happily, holding up a big piece of parchment showing crudely drawn green fields and rainbows as well as sunshine, he'd drawn a variety of different animals with smiling faces, "It's the world when we win the war, see? It's all happy and good. Do you think Daddy will like it?"

"I erm... I'm sure your Daddy would have loved it," Brutus assured him as a lump swelled in his throat, he lowered Vathan's hand slowly, "But I-I have bad news, Vathan."

"I know we didn't win but we'll get them next time, don't be sad," Vathan said gently with a comforting smile as he patted him on the shoulder.

"Vathan, some people died."

"Soldiers die in wars."

"Vathan..."

"Where's Daddy?" Vathan asked as worry slowly seeped onto his young face, "Did he get hurted?"

"Your Mummy and Daddy both died, they're not coming back," Brutus told him in a tearful whisper and Vathan took a step back as his expression turned to one of horror, he vehemently shook his head, "They didn't make it."

"No!" Vathan barked at him as his eyes welled with tears, "No! You're lying to me, Brutus! You're lying to me! My Mummy and Daddy aren't dead! They aren't! They're not dead, they're not!"

"Vathan-"

"NO!" Vathan screamed and hit him as Brutus reached out to him, tears flying from his eyes as he start pummeling Brutus' muscular chest with his tiny childish hands. Brutus took hold of his wrists gently and Vathan threw himself at him again, this time burying his face into Brutus' chest. Brutus let go of his wrists to put his arms around the small boy, feeling his robes being dampened by Vathan's tears as he sobbed, feeling him shaking from his cries, "Daddy... Mummy... Daddy... I want Daddy... Daddy!"

"I know," Brutus admitted as he held the boy close, blinking away tears and stroking his hair soothingly the way his father had done when he cried as a child.

"W-Wh w-would th-they kill him? How c-could they k-kill my Daddy? Don't th-they know I love him? Don't th-they kn-know he's th-th-the best? He's my D-Daddy. Why, Brutus, why?! Why?"

"It's okay," an expected voice offered and Brutus turned his head to see Sal leaning in the doorway, apparently having just woken up but looking more like she was just about to sleep from the exhaustion on her face. Her eyes had a distant expression though, "This won't go unpunished…"

* * *

**Part 2: **Indecision

* * *

"Scorpius!" Michael cried and Scorpius turned to see his friend rushing over to him along with Annie and Varanian, Roman and Myriam were gone, "Are you alright?!"

"Yeah, I'm-I'm fine," Scorpius answered, realizing this was the first time he'd spoken to his friend since being suspended because of him. Michael looked so concerned and so tired, he seemed unhurt though which was a relief, "Calderon and the Shadow Master were trying to destroy each other, the Ashains apparated them away before they could do that and take the rest of us with them like I saw in Ashylos' memory."

"Good to know."

"What happened to Roman and Myriam?"

"Told her to go back to Hogsmeade while she had the chance to not be crucified for helping us and I took Roman back since he's kind of a wreck right now," Varanian informed him, swaying slightly on his feet, "We should be leaving now too though, this is pretty much over and we'll be in trouble if we stay when the Ministry start showing up. Plus its best to ring away now while the enchantments are still broken."

"But I need to find out if my friends are okay," Scorpius protested, he still hadn't seen his girlfriend or the majority of them anyway, "Not to mention Calderon and Professor Ashain."

"We can't do anything for them regardless of their condition, if you stay and be caught you'll wind up as a fugitive. We need to leave."

"Go, Scorpius, I'll make sure they're okay," Michael assured him and he couldn't help but wonder suspiciously if he was sober, he pried Professor Ashain's wand from his fingers as well. He supposed they had a point, "And I'll give this back to him."

"Alright," Scorpius agreed with a reluctant heavy sigh before portkeying back to the usual spot in the field outside the base.

The trudged along oddly in silence, Varanian very much looking like he was just focusing on putting one foot in front of the other and Annie hovered by his side as if ready to aide him if he collapsed. When the returned to the hideout, Roman's wailing sobs could be heard from his room which indicated he'd made it back okay. Scorpius changed back into his regular clothes and Varanian did pretty much collapse into his bed asleep, Annie urged him to return to his family and he did.

The quiet, elegant manor seemed a completely other planet to the chaos of the battle. He put on the radio to listen for news but ended up drifting off to some song that made him think oddly of Molly, apparently feeling more worn then he'd thought. He headed downstairs for dinner after his nap as it was about that time, Myriam was there and had evidently informed his parents of the attack as his mother was looking horrified. Naturally, his father didn't look perturbed because he didn't care about anything. He did keep glancing at him though, Scorpius recalled snapping at him earlier.

He pretended to be surprised, tried not to exchange too many knowing looks with Myriam. She didn't stay long, just took her kids and left as apparently the Ministry was putting up a communal tent as temporary accommodation for those rendered homeless because of the attack. Which was everyone in Hogsmeade pretty much. A _town_ of people were homeless and he was sitting in a mansion that housed just five and a few house-elves, it was probably bigger than the tent they were being given. He felt the guilt gnaw at him, those people had nothing now and his family didn't even care, they hadn't even offered to put his mother's friend up with her small children and ill son. It was the talk of the dinner table but not a single word on helping in any way.

"Well the important thing is that you weren't there," his father stated at one point, nodding at Scorpius with a look of relief, "Lucky you got suspended."

"I'm not hungry anymore, I'm going to bed," Scorpius announced as he pushed his half-empty plate away, feeling quite sick that his father didn't care who the Shadows hurt as long as it wasn't him.

His mother came up later with a copy of the_ Evening Prophet_ for him, it listed the students who'd died and none of his friends were amongst them. She'd thought that was why he was upset and it did leave feeling more relieved the people he cared about were safe - it also mentioned Calderon's heroic duel and how he was recovering perfectly fine - and none of the staff had died, Professor Ashain was alive at least. It did make him feel somewhat better that no one in his immediate circle was dead although he supposed they could be injured, he still felt bad for the damage done and how little he was helping. He portkeyed to Varanian the next morning but found only Annie awake, there was no reason to wake him when he needed to rest so he returned home. He headed down for breakfast but it was interrupted by a knock at the door, surprisingly. A few minutes later, he was even more surprised when a trio of Aurors walked in.

"Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, you're under arrest," the lead Auror announced calmly as they stalked over to him while his family started in shock, "On suspicion of breaking into the Ministry and aiding the fugitive Varanian in escaping custody."

* * *

Pyrrhus Florian whistled a happy tune as he prepared to leave the Training Tower, despite everything and the anxious hordes of confused children asking him for guidance. He went to his room first, getting a bag and throwing in some clothes before heading to get some for Oathan and then finally to the stores to steal a good deal of their supplies for potions in case he'd need to craft some. Thinking ahead, smart. He put a Featherlight Charm on it then left with Oathan, returning to the dark, raining England. He sighed, there went his dreams of watching the Shadow Master sink the cursed country into the ocean.

He didn't head immediately for the Ministry though, he had some things to get first. He went to Diagon Alley, the streets he'd never been allowed walk to get his Hogwarts things like all the normal magical boys and girls. Something his father had denied him just so he could abuse him more, he also blamed McGonagall. What child in their right mind would refuse Hogwarts? If she'd sent someone to check it out, they'd have seen him jump at the chance. But she hadn't, had she? She hadn't cared, _no one_ had cared. Because no one did. Because all people were evil. She deserved the death he'd given her, served her right for not showing a shred of kindness. He'd been to Diagon Alley as an adult though, even if he hadn't the giant letters reading 'Ollivander's' were kind of a giveaway of where he was going.

He unlocked the door magically and headed inside, starting to give his son different wands to try. Oathan wasn't going to be denied magic like he'd been, in fact he was going to start teaching him himself earlier hence the wand. Someone came down to investigate the noise at one point, Pyrrhus considered killing him but ultimately just stunned him as something else occurred to him. Finally, Oathan was settled with a wand, one of Birch with Dragon Heartstring that was twelve inches. He intended to teach him wandless magic as well but a wand was always useful, he didn't have time to do that now though so the wandmaker would have to die the muggle way. After all, Oathan was vulnerable right now as he was a white soul and could easily be possessed or destroyed by a Specter. He'd have to become gray, unfortunately, like Pyrrhus himself to ensure that couldn't happen. And so with a heavy heart, he conjured a blade and approached the unconscious man with his son in tow.

"Okay, Oathan, you need to be really careful with this," Pyrrhus said seriously as he handed the toddler the knife, the curious violet eyes were reflected in the shimmering silver even in the darkness, "I want you to stab the pointy bit into this man's neck as hard as you can."

"Why?" Oathan asked him with worried interest as his eyes drifted down to the sleeping figure, "Won't it hurted him?"

"Yes but it's the only way for you to be protected, we don't want anything bad to happen to you. Do we?"

"Won't it killed him?"

"Killing is the only way to protect your soul. You see, everyone is born with a white soul and if they kill then it goes gray. Specters that hide in the shadows can destroy white souls but they can't touch gray souls so the only way to be safe from them is to become a gray soul, do you understand?"

"Yes," Oathan admitted uncomfortably, "But I is still not want to kill."

"Do you want to die instead? To not exist anymore like Mummy?" Pyrrhus questioned of him, Oathan blinked back tears and shook his head. He wiped the boy's tears before putting his hands on his son's shoulders, "I know this is hard but you_ have_ to do it, if there was any other way then I would do it but there's nothing. It doesn't hurt you, you won't be any different after except for being safe. It's okay, just do it quickly and it'll be over. I promise. Then we can get you some nice things as a reward."

Oathan took a deep breath as Pyrrhus moving away, he gently guided his son's hands so he was holding the knife over the wandmaker's throat. He nodded, trying to assure the boy for a final time it was alright and then Oathan lowered the blade. It plunged quite easily into the fleshy bit of his neck and crimson spurted out, Oathan pulled the blade out in horror but it didn't matter. Oathan was a gray soul.

"See? Pretty easy, huh?" Pyrrhus offered as he vanished the knife, Oathan tore his eyes away to meet his identical ones in shock as he nodded. He gave his son a smile and stood, taking his hand to lead him away from the dead man and the mess of wands they left behind them, "Well done, son, you did good."

The important thing was that Oathan was now safe Specters, the small child wouldn't fully grasp the implications anyway and by the time he did he would hopefully be old enough to understand. To try cheer him up and because he wanted to be a good father, he took them next to a muggle supermarket which was pretty much the only place open at the late hour. He got Oathan some muggle clothes as he found it useful to have a good mix, letting the boy input in what he chose such as what color he preferred. He then went to the toy section to buy Oathan some things to play with, he bought him the latest handheld games console with some games to go with it as well as some more traditional things like crayons to draw with and jigsaw puzzles. He also let Oathan pick a stuffed toy, he went with an over-sized octopus.

Pyrrhus didn't mind though, he wanted to encourage him to choose things he liked instead of being forced to do what the Shadows wanted. He threw in some chocolate and imperised a random other shopper into paying for them because he had no money, he erased the man's memories once they got outside and took Oathan to the next location. A fast food restaurant - again his choices were limited at the late hour - to get him some dinner, discovering Oathan had a dislike for ketchup but love for fries. He again imperised a random person into paying for them and erased their memory of it, it drew less suspicion then murder or outright theft. He then took them finally to a hotel to let Oathan get some sleep, he buried the room in a plethora of protective enchantments and brewed some healing salve to ease the pain of his son's blood quill scars. He'd wait for him to wake up though, it was long past his bedtime.

He smiled at his child, sleeping cuddling his big stuffed octopus. His smile turned sorrowful as he thought back to his own childhood, he couldn't recall a single night that his father hadn't ruined. Even now the dread remained, his father had ruined beds for him. He'd kill Oathan before he let that happen to him though. He went over and tucked his son in gently before leaving, he applied some final enchantments to the room because he was paranoid before disapparating. He reappeared back at the wandmaker's shop which was now a hub of activity, he quickly transformed into a moth and fluttered in to see what was happening. Several Aurors were there and trying in vain to speak to a sobbing woman, an elderly man was there as well whose silvery eyes looked distraught as he gazed at a white blanket tossed over a people shaped lump where the wandmaker's body had been. He listened disinterestedly to the conversation, boring Auror stuff about trying to figure who did it and what had been stolen, blah, blah, blah.

He was almost falling asleep when one mentioned returning to the Ministry, he then flew over and nestled himself amidst the man's filthy, greasy hair but it was the least inconspicuous place to perch unfortunately. Being an animagus came in useful, he was quite proud of it in fact. The Soul Eater teachers had banged on about how difficult Transfiguration was so to naturally excel at it and master animagi in his free time was something he was proud of, he thought it was easier than it was made out to be if you just looked at it in a different way. His success as a professor had actually proved this, he was right and they were dead so who was laughing now?! Well no one was but if he wasn't a moth then he would've laughed. He'd always liked moths, he'd never understood why butterflies were praised as beautiful and amazing while moths were seen as disgusting and hideous when they were so similar.

His sadistic brother Joel had used to catch moths, tear off their wings and throw them in jars just because he knew it upset him, he'd laugh when Pyrrhus cried and start smashing their broken bodies with a hammer. He'd felt so horrible for them, felt he could relate. Those normal children were like butterflies, bright and loved whereas he was a moth, tainted and hated with his home being his jar, of course his wings would be long since ripped away. Joel had always been cruel and violent, a perfect example of how children could be just as evil as adults. Marvin hadn't been so bad and had so desperately wanted to leave with him, he must've gotten worse though or he wouldn't be lying in the grave he'd forced Scorpius to dig. It was quite sad reall-

Pyrrhus stopped mid-thought as he realized he was already in the Ministry, he hadn't been paying attention. At all. That happened. Sometimes he got too lost in his thoughts, if his mind wasn't such a damaged place he'd prefer it to reality completely. At any rate, he picked his body up and fluttered up to get a view of the room. Just a bunch of cramped cubicles with Aurors sitting in them, right department but wrong room as Potter had his own office. He flew about and found it readily, a man was entering in fact and Pyrrhus took the opportunity to slip through and land on one of the blinds on the window in between the cubicles in readiness. The Auror Office was so easy to infiltrate that a moth could do it. Because he had. He'd laugh if that was at all possible with his current physiology, instead he turned his attention to the two men.

The famed Boy Who Lived sat at his desk, his untidy jet black now threaded with silver and lightning bolt scar faded further into the lines on his forehead. He still had the rounded spectacles though and the almond-shaped emerald eyes behind them, they were sagged from fatigue though. The man was some random person, his reddish-brown hair seemed to stick up and his own tired eyes were hidden behind oval-shaped glasses instead. He had quite a plain look to him really, his clothes were scruffy and dust-covered - as were Potter's - which meat they'd probably both been to the ruined Hogsmeade. He wasn't an Auror though as Pyrrhus would've expected, not unless he was undercover anyway as he wasn't dressed like one.

"You okay?" the stranger asked of Potter as he deposited a file onto the pile on his desk, Potter sighed.

"I screwed up, Flan," Potter admitted guiltily as he rubbed his forehead, "I spent several hours torturing the man who saved my daughter's life, Lily could be dead if Varanian hadn't interfered. Or suffering whatever plan the Shadows had for the students, if he hadn't tricked them into retreating then things would be a lot worse. I've been so focused on James lately I feel as if I've been neglecting my larger responsibilities in stopping the Shadows, this proves it."

"It's natural for you to be concerned for your son," the man known as 'Flan' apparently pointed out.

"I know but I can't, not at the expense of my duty to stop these bastards," Potter said with a shake of his head, looking ashamed, "I was just so sure Varanian had him and I was so angry, taking Albus last year and then James. I actually _wanted_ him to suffer, his silence only infuriated me further. But now - and after seeing how he was on our side in the battle - I'm really beginning to think that he _couldn't_ react because of the potions, I mean he didn't even _move_ when he was being tortured. Then his people stunned me, I'm assuming Roman and Scorpius or James."

"Why James?"

"Because I reckon if the Shadows had him then they would've contacted me by now, what's the point in waiting when they have him as leverage? He couldn't have escaped on his own and wouldn't have joined them willingly, I _know_ my son is a good person at heart. That only leaves Varanian," Potter deduced with spectacular inaccuracy, he knew for a fact James was learning to torture people as he spoke, "Besides, his wand's gone. I had it my office, it was on my desk before I went down to Varanian and after Varanian's escape it was gone. James must've taken it back when he left, it wouldn't be so hard when disguised as Ron and Cel since they have full access."

"They do, don't they?" Flan mused quietly and Pyrrhus' antennae pricked up, he'd sounded quite thoughtful. Potter nodded obliviously though as he stood, suppressing a yawn.

"I think I might go back to Hogwarts and check on things again, see if Albus and Lily are still up or if that fool, Rutherford is awake. I'd like to have words with him, his system failed spectacularly in alerting us."

"Did it?" Flan questioned in a more certain tone and Potter scowled as if the answer was obvious, opening his mouth to probably insist this but Flan had continued, "Did you ever think maybe it was sabotaged?"

"We thought about it but dismissed it," Potter pointed out "They'd have to have been in here and turned it off straight after it activated, there's spells in place to register that and the last time was at Christmas not earlier today."

"What if that was tampered with though? If the record of it being turned off was altered?"

"Very few people even know about that let alone would be able to wipe the last record, there's no way," Potter insisted and Flan shifted, the Head Auror finally noticed, "Unless you know something I don't."

"I think Cel is a Shadow," Flan blurted out.

Pyrrhus was very impressed he got that, as far as he knew the spy was quite well intertwined. Too intertwined. The second his sentence was through Potter's face twisted angrily and his fist had shot through the air, there was a violent crack as he punched Flan with enough force to knock him down. The sound had been because of his glasses, Pyrrhus noticed the left side was cracked as he looked up at the fuming Potter.

"Cel isn't a Shadow!" Potter spat furiously, "He's my protégé! I've known him since he just graduated Hogwarts and his parents were viciously murdered! I even encouraged him to be an Auror! He's a damn good man, a damn fine Auror and a great man! If you dare to accuse him then you better have some damning evidence to back it up!"

"I don't," Flan admitted as he got back to his feet, "But he was in here earlier-"

"He has every right to be in here!"

"Exactly! He has every right! He has every access! He has your complete trust!" Flan protested, fighting his corner, "He's in the perfect position to render the Auror Office as nothing more than information for the Shadows!"

"Just because your Father-"

"This has _nothing_ to do with my Father!" Flan cut him off before making an effort to lower his voice, "There's something off about him, Harry, I don't know for sure if he's a Shadow but it fits and I wouldn't be telling you this if I didn't feel it had merit. I think it's worth looking into, it has to be someone you trust."

"How do I know it's not you?" Potter sneered apparently not taking too kindly to his friends being accused, even if the friend in question actually was a backstabbing bastard while Flan looked incredulous.

"Because I'm not, I don't have the skill to alter that either. Besides if I was a Shadow, don't you think I'd actually be doing things to benefit myself? I'm staying in a cramped communal tent with the rest of Hogsmeade because my home was destroyed, my wife nearly died, my son is going to die now we can't afford to replace the potions lost with the house," Flan trailed off slightly, his eyes almost looking to shine with unshed tears for a moment, "And that's not even including the last time Hogsmeade was attacked when my family nearly died along with myself, my wife became a werewolf... And you _really_ think I'm a Shadow? That I secretly enjoy misfortune happening to my family and I?"

"No," Potter admitted, his anger seemingly waning and there was a sliver of guilt glinted in his emerald eyes, "But you're wrong, it's not Cel."

"If you're sure," Flan offered but Pyrrhus got the impression his mind hadn't changed, quite rightly so. O_h Potter, you fool_, Pyrrhus thought to himself,_ you foolish fool._ Didn't he know his loyalty was idiotic? Of course it could be Cel, all of his friends were just waiting to stab him in the back because that's what people did!

"I am," Potter stated with a note of finality but his expression softened, "And I... I'm sorry, for losing my temper and hitting you. I shouldn't have done that, I'm so on edge lately. Would you like me to fix your glasses?"

"No, I can do it."

"Okay," Potter nodded after a moment's hesitation as if he'd considered saying something else, "Why don't you go home to your family and get some rest? It's been a long day. They were erecting a tent for Hogsmeade residents with some food and blankets if you have nowhere else to stay."

"I know, that's where I'll be," Flan pointed out as he turned to leave, pausing in the doorway though to glance back, "Get some rest yourself, Harry, you'll do better fighting the Shadows if you're not also fighting to stay awake. I'm sure your wife misses you too now you're spending so many nights at the office."

"Ginny understands."

"Doesn't mean she doesn't miss you as much as you miss her," Flan shrugged as he left, his eye now red from the blow.

Potter watched him leave thoughtfully before sitting back down at his desk, he sighed again and rubbed his temples while his eyes wandered to the photographs on his desk. Seeing now as his chance, Pyrrhus flew from his hiding spot and transformed back into a man, plopping himself into the chair opposite Potter's desk in one fluid motion. Potter reacted with impressive reflexes, eyes snapping to him and drawing his wand while he was still in motion. Pyrrhus flicked his wrist though and Potter's wand flew obediently into his hand, the Head Auror's eyes bulged as he crossed his legs and leaned back comfortably despite feeling incredibly uncomfortable to be alone in a room with a man now he wasn't a moth. He wasn't going to let his fear show though.

"Calm down, Potter, honestly if I was going to attack you then I would have," Pyrrhus commented dismissively while the man opposite stared at him with hatred, he was acutely reminded of how viciously Potter had just punched his subordinate.

"Doesn't mean I don't want to attack you, you murdered a dear friend of mine and the son of another," Potter told him in a growl, not an ideal start and he toyed with the idea of magically incapacitating his body to ensure he wouldn't be physically attacked.

"Well that's in the past, this is the present," Pyrrhus brushed it off, deciding against doing anything to him as it made him seem more genuine, "I want immunity for my past crimes and protection from the Ministry."

"You're kidding, right?" Potter scoffed with an incredulous, "Are you _completely_ insane? In what other dimension would I agree to that?"

"Because I have information you want. I just defected from the Soul Eaters and as I'd rather not be fighting off the both of you, I'm willing to share in exchange for your help."

"Why did you defect?"

"Personal reasons," Pyrrhus said shortly, not wanting to drag his son into it until he knew Potter was on board.

"What do you know then?" Potter asked, sounding interested.

"I know a fair bit about their operations, I know where their Training Tower - where they train their child recruits into Elite soldiers - is and if you act fast then you may be able to save the children before they catch on because I murdered all the adults working there," Pyrrhus offered, counting the things off on his free hand as he did so, "I also know who the Soul Eater spy is within your office, I know where your son is and majorly importantly, I know the Shadow Master's identity."

"I'm listening," Potter breathed, looking much more interested now as his eyes focused on Pyrrhus intensely. It actually made him feel quite uncomfortable, he didn't like men staring at him.

"Not until you agree to my terms."

"How do I know you're even telling the truth?"

"Why would I risk my life to come here and lie? When you found out you'd rescind on the deal and I'd get nothing," Pyrrhus pointed out, feeling rather insulted, "I can prove the Training Tower if we go there to save the kids, the rest you'll just have to trust me on."

"It's a big thing you're asking me to do," Potter said, still eying him distastefully.

"It's big information that I'm giving to you."

"If I do agree to it, you're going to have to conform to certain rules," Potter began cautiously, "And if you break them then I won't hesitate to throw you into a hole in New Azkaban prison where you belong."

"What kind of rules?" Pyrrhus asked suspiciously.

"No law breaking for a start, no killing, no torture, no contact with the Shadows."

"How lowly you must think of me, I-"

His sentence was cut off as the fireplace in Potter's office activated, they both turned and saw Neville Longbottom stepping out. His eyes met his for a moment and murderous rage filled them, his wand was whipped out in an instant with a flash of green already on him. He thought he heard Potter scream 'no' but it was hard to hear over the whoosh of magic, Pyrrhus was fasted though and leaped up, doing a back flip to avoid the jet of deadly light and landed with perfect form.

"I'll take this as a no then," Pyrrhus spat disappointedly.

He slashed Potter's wand to conjure a wall of flames between him and the two Aurors, tossing Potter's wand away as he dodged another curse from Longbottom and exited the office. He was immediately greeted by shocked cries of Aurors and wands on him, Pyrrhus swirled his hands around him and the wands shot from their owners' hands. He jumped up onto the closest desk and from there the edge of the closest cubicle, it was narrow but he could do it. He had been a good gymnast for all the mockery it earned him, his skills served him well even to this day.

He started dashing along the cubicles, running over them with the wands still hovering around him. Others noticed and jets started firing up from the cubicles he was running over, he used the wands to conjure up multiple Shield Charms to counter them while firing his own stunners - since they were easier to do then Killing Curses - back at them. He laughed at how invincible he felt with his assortment of wands, like he was in a bubble of flashing colors as he weaved his way over the cubicles to get to the exit. It was actually something he'd developed on his own, it was quite useful but had its downsides as it required very intense focus to manage so many wands at once and also tired you fairly quickly.

He reached the exit and jumped up, spinning back to face the cubicles as he did so. The wands lined up in front of him like a firing squad, casting the most explosive spells he could think of as a cover. He transformed back into moth in midair and soared away desperately, fluttering down the corridor and slipping through the bars of one of the lifts that immediately started moving as it had been about to. He flew out when it stopped on the atrium, fluttering over to the fireplaces and depositing himself on the fat head of someone about to Floo away. He felt himself whirling through space as he was carried along with the man, he fluttered away as soon as the man left the fireplace into a sizable living room.

The man swatted him with a scowl and he was thrown off balance for a second as he tried to right himself, he noticed a window open a crack and slipped out of it. He flew away from the house for a bit, finding himself in some random neighborhood he didn't recognize to ensure he was away from any anti-apparation charms before transforming back and apparating back to the hotel. He was breathing heavily as he returned to their room, Oathan was still sleeping and didn't appear to have moved since he left. Pyrrhus let out a relieved breath as he slumped down in a chair and lazily lit the fireplace magically, captivated by the fire once more. Maybe there was something to moths and flames, he was pretty easily entranced by fire and other lights. He sighed as he shoved his random thoughts aside and rubbed his head, so much for that plan.

* * *

Varanian found he was feeling quite refreshed when he woke up, it was unusual for him because he didn't tend to get much sleep. He either slept in short, erratic bursts or for a longer stretch of time when he couldn't deny his body sleep anymore but even then he tended to wake up tired as he couldn't sleep enough to make up for it before a nightmare awake him. He hadn't woken up because of a nightmare though, he'd just woken because he'd had enough sleep which probably explained why he felt refreshed for once. Idly as he got up, he wondered if Annie had given him anything to help him sleep because it was that strange for him. Admittedly, it was much better than waking up in Ministry custody though.

He was feeling better too, his thoughts were coming to him at a pace he could process and he didn't feel ready to collapse. He shifted his appearance randomly several times and cast some simple spells to test it, he had no issues with either. The power-repressing potion had either worked its way out of his system completely or had at least gone enough for him to be able to do more basic magical things, it was a good sign whichever it was. The last thing he needed was to be permanently magically crippled, he still had things to do. They may have stopped the Shadows from taking Hogwarts and Hogsmeade but the Shadow Master had gotten away, somehow he didn't strike Varanian as the kind of man who'd quit after one loss. He needed to check in with Wyatt to see if he'd found anything useful and talk to Roman, find out what was up with that Leila Akram woman. Unless he'd imagined that, which wouldn't surprise him as he had felt out of it mentally.

For now though, he strode upstairs as he wouldn't accomplish anything down in the basement. Besides he was also usually rather hungry. He was glad to see light streaming through the windows when he got up to the main floor, the dead of night wouldn't be the ideal time to speak to people. The first person he saw though was Annie, she was standing alone in the kitchen. She was no longer dressed in Auror robes, instead her usual worn muggle jeans, trainers and brown jacket over probably an open button shirt and t-shirt. Her auburn hair was tied back in its sticking up bun thing as usual while bangs hung down on either side of her face, her hair seemed to shine as the sun touched it. She was looking quite radiant with the sun's rays dancing off her...

"How are you feeling?" Annie asked of him, snapping him away from his thoughts.

"Much better," Varanian admitted as he continued his approach, he hoped it hadn't looked like he was staring at her.

"Really?" Annie questioned with an eyebrow rising as if she doubted his answer, her arms folded and she leaned back against the counter while he paused on the other side of the table.

"Really," Varanian insisted truthfully, holding up his hands and Annie looked at him for a long moment before seemingly deciding she believed him as she gave a grunt of acceptance, "Why would I lie about that?"

"I don't know, maybe because you're the same person who refused to go rest!" Annie complained sardonically and threw up her arms in exasperation.

"Fair point but that was different," Varanian conceded as he recalled the day's events, both the attack and those leading up to it. He scratched the back of his head for something to do with his hands, feeling quite humiliated at how weak he'd been, "You erm... I err... I never uh... th-thanked you for... for saving when I... when I was... arrested and... all."

"Future generations will marvel at your brilliance in stringing together coherent sentences," Annie quipped sarcastically and he smiled at her, he'd missed her. Well, he realized it was stupid since it probably hadn't been that long since he'd seen her but he... he liked being around her, "What are you smiling at?"

"You did brilliantly yesterday, you know?" Varanian offered truthfully as he looked back to her, she and Scorpius had impressed him and he was quite proud. Annie jolted in surprise and turned away, idly scratching the back of her neck, "You're a talented witch when you put your mind to it, Annie."

"Well people tend to be capable of anything when they put their minds to it," Annie shrugged it off uncomfortably before reverting to her usual tone, "And for the record, I prefer magically inclined."

"I know," Varanian admitted with a playful smirk that she returned as she apparently thought of a comeback.

"So I hear you have non-a-group group called Gray now?" Annie commented and he looked down to try hide his blush, "Gray? Seriously?"

"It made sense at the time," Varanian insisted, noticing for the first time that the table was bare except for a lone bottle of beer, "Scorpius already complained about the name anyway."

"Well good for Scorpius! Were you serious about it?" Annie asked him in a more serious tone and he shrugged, the beer putting a damper on his mood somewhat as he remembered her alcoholism and the fact he'd promised she could have one in peace. He felt guilty for it now, he didn't want it to destroy her.

"The whole thing made me realize that... that maybe we do have a chance and I mean _we_. As much as I'd like to do it alone, sometimes... sometimes you need people and fighting an army is one of those times," Varanian admitted hesitantly but truthfully, still somewhat uncomfortable with the idea but his talk with his grandfather - or whatever that had been - had made him realize it was the best course of action whatever qualms he had, "It is if I want to have a hope in a hell in actually making a difference anyway. We need as much help as we can get."

"Well done for finally realizing that," Annie offered and he nodded as he picked up the bottle, his grandfather had also urged him to talk to her. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed her ears perking up like a dog's.

"I guess you'll be wanting this then," Varanian pointed out, holding it out for her.

"You're actually letting me drink alcohol with nagging me?" Annie wondered dubiously, trying to smirk but failing as her sapphiric eyes darted between him and the bottle.

"I did say for once, best get it out of the way."

Annie nodded very slowly before tentatively crossing he distance between them, her face oddly void of expression instead of the triumph he'd expected. Up close she looked exhausted in contrast to him, her sapphires sunken into black bags. She took the bottle cautiously with a trembling hand, staring down at it and thumbing the label before she bit her lip. She heaved a great sigh before handing it back to him just as slowly, the look on her face was torturous.

"Actually, I-I was thinking that... that maybe I-I sh-should st-st-stop drinking for... for a while," Annie stammered out as the bottle slid back into his scarred hand, he could've taken the opportunity to playfully mock her sentence structure but he could only look at her in shock, "Just for a little while."

"You're doing the right thing," Varanian assured her, catching the look of terror on her face while her eyes lingered on the bottle.

"Y-You know just... just until th-the war... I need to be focused not... not drunk, you got arrested because of me and then Michael and... I need to not drink right," Annie babbled out, looking on the verge of tears, "If I can. I'm not sure I can but I'll try."

"Of course you can," Varanian stated encouragingly as he put the bottle back down on the table, he eyes followed it until he put his hand on her shoulder comfortingly when she met his eyes again, "You're a strong person, Annie, you can do this. _We_ can get through this, we can rid of all this stuff and there's potions that deal with the withdrawal and-and I'm here for you. Don't look so afraid, you were fine against an army of Shadows, you can do this."

"Living scares me a hell of a lot more than dying does," Annie admitted quietly, looking away solemnly and scratching the back of her head again. He'd just opened his mouth to reply when she spoke up again, "And I erm... I'm sorry, by the way."

"For what?" Varanian wondered in confusion.

"You know for getting you arrested and... and kissing you on Christmas, that was out of line and I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"I- Wait, you remember that?" Varanian changed his sentence mid-way through as this information dawned on him, she glanced at him incredulously.

"Of course, I remember that. Takes more than that before I start forgetting, alcoholics have a strong tolerance you know."

"I know that, you just... you just didn't_ say_ anything."

"Well you rejected me, what did you want me to say?" Annie asked of him and he took a slight step back, relieved and reluctant to have this conversation now.

"I don't know but something, why-why did you even do it? Just because you were drunk?" Varanian spluttered out awkwardly and looked to her for an answer.

He was both hoping and hating the thought of her saying yes. Hoping because it would put an end to it, there was no potential romantic interest to agonize over and they could move past it. But also hating because he had come to accept he _did_ like her and wanted to act on it, he also didn't want agonizing over it to have all been for nothing. Annie took a step back herself, fidgeting and looking around while her mouth opened and closed several times as if she was thinking very hard about how to phrase what she was going to say.

"I kissed you because I was drunk but I _wanted_ to kiss you because... because I like you," Annie said finally and he felt as if his heart had done a somersault, a giddy rush of excitement surged through him at the same time that doubts started clogging up his mind.

"Why?" Varanian mustered through the internal clash, "I-I'm all scarred and... and old, older then you."

"I don't care about that," Annie scoffed as if his serious concerns he was wrong for her was the dumbest thing she'd ever heard, "Who cares about numbers and skin? What- You can change your appearance at will anyway!"

"Changing what I look like doesn't change who I am."

"Exactly! Because that's what matters,_ who_ you are!" Annie insisted and started shifting uncomfortably, her eyes darting down again as if she was pondering her next words carefully again, "I... I've been with a lot of guys, I was promiscuous when I was younger. I didn't want to feel alone but I didn't wanted to be alone, I wanted to feel close to people without having to actual to be close to them and like drinking, it's an easy way to feel good. I didn't think it was even possible for it to be different since I was an unlikeable drunk with scary magical powers, I believed it so strongly I didn't even try. And then... then there's you. I just... just connect with you in a strange way and I don't... I don't usually connect with people, and you've put up with me so far. I like being around you, I like who you are, I like _you_... But it doesn't matter. I know you love your wife, Pip, and I'm not her."

"That's right not, Ethel's dead," Varanian said quietly and she glanced at him, now it was his turn to try collect his thoughts since they were clearly just going with honesty here. He sighed heavily as he studied his boots, "She... She was the only one, she asked me out just before I started noticing the opposite gender and then we just always together. I didn't ever look at anyone else, I didn't want anyone else. It was always serious to me, I don't think I could be intimate with someone I wasn't close to and that I didn't trust. I find people so difficult to deal with and be around, there's very few I'm close to. But she died and I was alone, touch was painful even if I'd wanted to try find someone else. It's still a very strange thought, I never thought I could be close to someone like I was Ethel and I'd never really let her go anyway. And then... then there's you. I know... I know exactly what you mean because I feel the same, I could have said the same thing word for word."

"Really?" Annie whispered so quietly he barely heard it.

"Really," Varanian confirmed and lifted his head to meet her eyes again, "You sprang it on me before I could process it, it's still somewhat strange to think but yes. I still love Ethel and I don't will stop but she's dead, she's been dead a long time and I... I think... I think I'm ready to try to move on. I could've... I could've died yesterday and I... I don't want to die without even having tried. And I think... I think that's what she'd want too. You know if... if you'd like... like that too an-anyway."

"I erm... err... I..." Annie stammered out, seemingly caught completely off-guard, "I don't... I want... I don't know if-if now's th-the best time to... to err... make maj-major changes since... since I'm trying to be sober and all."

"I understand completely," Varanian offered, feeling his cheeks burn in humiliation at not thinking about of that and having so foolishly opened up. He turned on his heel, eager to distance himself from his own stupidity, "I'll go check in with Wyatt, f-"

"I didn't say no!" Annie shrieked desperately and grabbed his arm, pulling him back around to face her.

"So that's a yes?" he wondered uncertainly, his hopeful heart spinning with doubts again that he would make her life worse.

"No... Yes... I don't know!"

"Well make up your mind!" Varanian complained, desperately feeling the need for a decisive answer.

Annie opened and closed her mouth again, looking as conflicted as he felt. Her lips were suddenly looking very enticing, he'd never wanted to kiss someone who wasn't Ethel so much as he did in that moment. Annie wasn't like her at all, not in personality or appearance. They were about the same height but Ethel was bigger, she had an athletic build and a more curvaceous figure whereas Annie was petite with a wirier, thinner frame and very slender legs. Ethel had a fuller face with fuller lips and warm brown eyes whereas Annie's face was more angular with thinner lips and sapphiric blue eyes, both beautiful but different. Annie was much paler too, Ethel was very much an outdoor person and was outside regularly for her work as a magizoologist whereas Annie preferred the indoors and had an unhealthy pasty tinge from her alcoholism. Ethel had brown curly hair that she hated tied back, Annie had straight auburn hair that she hated let down. Ethel had larger ears that she preferred buried in her hair, quite ironically as she liked earrings while Annie had smaller ears that weren't even pierced, he noticed. Ethel was bubblier and friendly, Annie was more cynical and sarcastic.

He very much resisted the urge to scowl, his mind growing bored of occupying itself with the differences. They had some similarities, both clearly cared for family very dearly and they were both incredibly brave. He was sure Annie would have made Gryffindor if she'd had the chance, been given the education she deserved. Her mouth was still opening and closing uncertainly, desperately debating what was the right decision. With a jolt, he wondered if she felt the same as him. Wanting to move forward but riddled with doubts, just wanting a decisive answer as he wasn't sure what to do but he'd dumped her with the responsibility of choosing. They probably shouldn't, it was less complicated and she could focus on her sobriety. But then there was no reason a relationship would change that... _Oh to hell with it, you both want it and were dancing around like idiots!_ his mind complained at him, _you're only alive once, it's now or never in this war..._

Without further thought or any thought at all really, he leaned in and captured her still flailing mouth with his own. He felt the euphoric rush as her soft lips touched his, unexpectedly no longer tasting like cheap beer. He waited for the doubts to spring back into his mind or for Annie to pull away but neither happened, this time it just felt uneasily right. Annie kissed him back with a passion he matched and he felt rather then saw her arms thrown around him, felt her fingers gliding through his hair and encircled his arms around in turn to pull closer, feeling her body relaxing into his arms as he did so. He hoped he wasn't dreaming.

* * *

**Part 3: **Memory and the Minister

* * *

_Tommy awoke to find things were very different to before. And it had nothing to do with the loss of the Shadows. He'd been moved to a new location while he was unconscious, away from his twin, away from family, away from everyone he knew. Everyone but Master Rodolphus at least. Master Rodolphus had complete control over his life and he didn't make it a happy one._

_Tommy's room was in the basement, not the basement as before but simply in it. The room as the width of the thin steel door and not even the full length of it, a bucket he was to use for the bathroom took up half the space anyway. He didn't have space to stretch his legs, not even close. No bathing for him, no privileges, not even clean clothes and food became a rarity, he was water just enough that he was barely alive. There were no windows and no light. Master Rodolphus would leave him locked in there for long stretches of time with two Dementors standing guard outside, he'd only be taken out for beatings - Master Rodolphus wanted to wear down his unhealthy fighting spirit - and to train to be taught magic where he continued his torturous methods._

_It combined entrapment of Azkaban with the cruelty he'd come to expect from - at least the majority of - Death Eaters, except worse. He didn't have Brutus to heal him and ease his pain, he didn't have his mother or even the twin he thought he'd never be separated from. He'd just be stuck there, alone in the pitch-black cold metallic box with Dementors sucking away everything but misery. He had no sense of time, he just had to try sleep when he felt tired which involved wedging his battered body into as bearable a position as possible. Sleep was all he had to look forward to these days, not being conscious was the only time he wasn't suffering. On some level he knew he deserved it for what he'd done to Sal, binding her to the Shadows. He could only hope she wasn't also trapped in the same situation as him, the thought of Sal suffering actually made him weep. Regardless of what she'd done, he didn't want her to suffer._

_And then out of the blue, Master Rodolphus gave him terrible news. The war was over. His father had lost and his parents were both dead. Tommy just dropped to the ground in a sobbing heap, tears erupting from his eyes as grief overwhelmed him. His mother, one of only two people he'd had contact with for the first thirteen years of his life, who had cared for them and managed to keep them alive through Azkaban. And his father, the man he'd been told about all his life, who he had failed and now he'd never be able to earn his father's love. Master Rodolphus gave him a brutal kick that elicited a yelp before he grabbed Tommy's hair and painfully yanked him into an upright position, forcing him to look into the hate-filled eyes._

_"That means you and your sister are our last chance," Master Rodolphus growled darkly, "You are going to learn this magic because I am going to use you to lead the remnants of our organization and continue on with Lord Voldemort's noble goal. Do you understand?"_

_Things only went downhill from there, Master Rodolphus would push him harder and harder but Tommy still failed. He was desperate to do magic, if only to end his pain and do something his parents had so desperately craved - even though he had no intention of being the new face of evil that Master Rodolphus hoped - but he couldn't. He'd try so hard that the wand he was using would explode and random things would start happening every time he felt emotion, not just frequently but every time without fail. Master Rodolphus wasn't impressed though, he wanted him to use regular spells with a wand and was convinced more beatings and Cruciation would stop that. It didn't yet though and the increasing demand for new wands to practice with meant he was left for even longer stretches of time as Master Rodolphus had to acquire them, Tommy didn't think he was ever going to be able to use a wand. If anything, they only exploded faster regardless of what he did or what type the wand was in the first place. Master Rodolphus punished him with pain. Masters were horrible._

_Time dragged on in the hell hole Tommy had been thrown into, he was only aware of the time when Master Rodolphus would let him know that he was another year older or the new year had started. It felt like eternity to Tommy anyway so they always came out of the blue, days and nights merging just into one constant abyss of darkness and pain. He turned sixteen after his parents died, came of age and became eighteen without ever seeing the sky. Master Rodolphus succeeded in crushing his spirit, any flickers of hope were extinguished and as the years piled up on him, it was too much for sparks to catch light. Tommy didn't feel like a person anymore, just a vessel for power and pain to flow through. He never thought he'd actually prefer Azkaban, at least there he'd had some movement and had some people. He was just alone here, he didn't even have Shadows but just vacant, silent darkness. He supposed in way hopelessness was better, at least he wasn't panicking and joining more Shadows to him._

_It actually ended up working against Master Rodolphus, eventually Tommy just stopped trying anymore and nothing could hurt him more then he'd already been hurt so it lost its incentive. Master Rodolphus was forced to try a new tactic, for the first time in three years he was allowed to leave his prison. His shaking legs were allowed to walk up the crumbling stone steps of the rest of the basement - where he 'learned' magic outside of his room - to the decrepit corridor that it apparently went to with peeling purple wallpaper and dusty floorboards. Master Rodolphus jabbed his finger at the tiny window in the hall, nothing but a sliver blue sky was visible but all the same Tommy felt his heart twist longingly for freedom._

_"If you try over the next few months then I'll let you go outside there on your birthday," Master Rodolphus offered and Tommy felt a tiny bubble of hope in his heart, "And that's a promise."_

_Invigorated by the offer and the reminder that a world existed outside of his dark hell, Tommy tried again. He was very good, he tried to use magic but also tried to hold back so that he didn't use so much power the wand exploded. He also tried to stop the magic bursts that happened randomly, repression didn't seem to work but he thought maybe with practice he could at least control what the magic coming out did so at least it wouldn't be so destructive or inconvenient for Master Rodolphus. Tommy was good, so looking forward to getting to go outside for the first time in years. And then the day came when Master Rodolphus informed him he was nineteen now, he tried to teach him to use magic as usual and then went to throw back into his room._

_"Wait!" Tommy protested, fearing Master Rodolphus had forgotten his promise. He was struck across the face for speaking out of turn and his flimsy body knocked to the ground but he wasn't going to give up, "It-It's my b-birthday, y-you said-"_

_"I said you could go outside if you tried," Master Rodolphus stated with a nod of acknowledgement, "But you didn't try so you don't get to go outside."_

_"But I did!" Tommy insisted desperately as he scrambled to stand on shaking legs, he was actually taller than Master Rodolphus now, "I tried! I tried so hard! You've seen!"_

_"You didn't make any progress with using magic through a wand though so clearly you weren't trying hard enough so you don't get the reward."_

_"No!" Tommy barked, for the first time in a long time feeling anger felling up in his gut, "I did try! You promised!"_

_"You're getting a beating for your insolence and then going back in your box, that's the end of it."_

_"NO!"_

_Tommy screamed and the world exploded around him, fury firing through his veins at the broken promise after he'd fought so hard for the reward. He hated it. He hated this place, he hated his prison, he hated his life, hated how cruelly he was treated. And he hated Master Rodolphus, hated the man behind it all, he hated him so much that he actually wished he was dead. He felt the power filling him, euphoric delight cascading through him and for the first time in a long time he laughed happily at the sensation. Laughed until he cried as it inevitable became so intense it started to hurt, he dug his nails into his scalp at the pain and willed it to stop. It was too late for that though, it was like he was in the center of a hurricane that was obliterating the building around him. He thought he could hear Master Rodolphus screaming at him to stop but it was lost in the torrent of destruction, the world becoming a blur of chaos and yellow light._

_And then it stopped. Tommy collapsed as he felt the magic leave him, the sounds of destruction falling silent. He stared at the cold slab of concrete he was on, breathing heavily and waiting for the beating to come or the Cruciatus Curse as punishment. Nothing came though, only the gentle breeze caressing him. Tommy looked up in surprise and saw he was no longer in the basement, or at least no longer in the building. There was no building to speak of, he was beneath a beautiful sunset in a crater with nothing but heaps of rubble around him and bits of Master Rodolphus' body._

* * *

Scorpius found himself strangely calm as the Aurors arrested him, at least outwardly in comparison to his hysterical family. He didn't react or fight back or escape using the Portkey ring as he could very easily do, instead he stood and held out his hands. He felt cold shackles clasp around his wrists and his wand was taken from him, his parents' protests failing to reach his ears as he was led away. He didn't even know how to feel, he couldn't be outraged at the injustice like his parents because it wasn't an injustice, he was guilty of helping Varanian. He felt fear bubbling in his gut but it had to spill out, after all he and Annie had broken Varanian out so it wasn't quite the end of the world. The Auror had been arrested under suspicion of only so surely that meant they weren't certain, if he just kept his mouth shut then maybe it'd be okay. He didn't regret his actions and if he ended up paying the price then it was worth it, yesterday would've been a lot worse without Varanian.

He was led outside with the Aurors keeping a hand on each of his shoulders, his family desperately insisting they would get him out of this and telling the Aurors he was innocent. He was apparated to the atrium of the Ministry and taken down to the same interrogation rooms he'd saved Varanian from yesterday, people gasping as they passed and muttering about how they'd always known Malfoys were no good. In fact, it might even have been the same cell as Varanian. He started to feel afraid they would use the power-repressing potion on him, although he reminded himself it wouldn't be so bad as it had been for Varanian since he wasn't a metamorphmagi. There was only the table with two chairs though, he was sat down opposite the door and his chains transfigured to merge with the table to presumably keep him there.

"Wait here," one of the Aurors said rather stupidly considering Scorpius was chained to the table.

Two of them left leaving him alone with one, a weedy man with a nose that looked broken who eyed him suspiciously. Scorpius shifted uncomfortably, now the actual arrest part was over he was becoming increasingly and painfully aware of how the shackles were very much like when he was handcuffed to the bed with the muggles. His fear bubbled out into his veins and infectiously floated through him, like an icy wind gliding through him. He didn't want to be a prisoner again... Varanian would come for him, surely? Varanian wouldn't let him rot. If Scorpius and Annie could free Varanian - who he easily considered outclassed them magically - then surely it would be nothing to save him. He reminded himself he was being irrational, it wasn't like they were going to take him from here to an attic... He squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to remember.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," a familiar voice offered.

Scorpius' mind shot back to reality, seeing Harry Potter himself entering with that sandy-haired Auror Cel Rooke - or something that like - along with surprisingly, Rutherford. Rutherford was looking quite rough though, his waxy flesh was noticeably gray and he was sporting a new scar over his right eye and another from his chin down his neck. His eyes had sunken back into black sacks and seemed a touch bloodshot, his one hand was scarred and the other bandaged with a cane grasped in it now. He was also walking strangely - probably the reason for the cane - as one leg jerked oddly when he moved as if it worked correctly, he looked half a step away from collapse. Scorpius would guess he hadn't quite recovered from Carver's attack yesterday, maybe even that he'd gone against medical advice to be standing here.

"Do you know why you're here?" Potter asked of him and Scorpius was surprised by the rush of anger he felt, he'd _tortured_ Varanian. _Yesterday_. And now he was speaking polite? Although he really looked as if he'd rather be somewhere else, as did Rooke. Rutherford just looked desperate, "You're accused of being in league with the fugitive Varanian, specifically with aiding him in breaking out of here yesterday."

"I'm aware but you're wrong," Scorpius lied as he leaned back, "I didn't even know he'd been arrested yesterday."

"He's lying!" Rutherford burst out, his voice sounding somehow raspier as if he was recovering from a nasty cough, "I saw him yesterday_ in_ Hogwarts _with_ Varanian!"

"Funnily enough, we picked up on that after about the first fifty times you mentioned it," Rooke quipped with a roll of his eyes.

"Despite the fact no one else corroborates it," Potter added under his breath.

"They're all lying!" Rutherford protested desperately.

"Of course they are."

"Everyone's a liar but you," Rooke nodded, a mocking sting in his words, "Perfectly rational from the man whose security system failed."

"It didn't fail! It was tampered with, somehow," Rutherford insisted, starting to look actually upset at their lack of belief, "They did something to it!"

"Of_ course_ they did. Keep telling yourself that if it helps you cope with your crippling failure."

"I-"

"Let's just get this over with," Potter interrupted, seemingly having remembered Scorpius was there, "Scorpius, you're in Auror custody now and the Minister has given his express permission that Legilimency and Veritaserum is allowed to be used on you to deduce the truth. While your parents are confirming you have no allergies to Veritaserum, we'll start with Legilimency."

"What?!" Scorpius burst out in shock and panic.

"Don't worry, if you're innocent then you have nothing to hide and if you're lying..." Rutherford stating finding a sliver of his usual confidence, "It may be best to come clean now."

"There's nothing to come clean about," Scorpius lied again, he'd just have to hope his Occlumency skills paid off and Veritaserum... Well, one challenge at a time, "I just think this is wrong."

"I know, I'm sorry. The Minister insists," Potter offered apologetically and Scorpius noticed it was Rooke who'd drawn his wand, "Okay, Cel."

_"Legilimens!"_

Scorpius emptied his head of thoughts like a Vanishing Spell in time for the now familiar sensation of someone trying to breach his mind, Rooke ran into the emptiness and Scorpius felt his presence. He mentally went to shove him out, just desiring the Auror out of his head as fast as possible. However he failed spectacularly, instead of pushing Rooke out he felt himself pushing through Rooke and falling into a memory.

He found himself in a room, peering through Rooke's eyes as he was experiencing the man's memory. It wasn't too dissimilar from the interrogation room - probably why it was at the surface of his thoughts - as it also had white walls and a bland feeling to it, the floor was a faded gray carpet though and the style was distinctively different. There was a window opposite and a muggle light hanging overhead, there was a closed gray door to his left and a dresser for clothing to his right. He seemed to be sitting on a bed and from the drop in height, Scorpius reckoned it was from Rooke's adolescence of possibly childhood.

He didn't think there was anything else in the room, he didn't think it was Rooke's bedroom either as no one could possibly be that bland. Rooke choked on a sob and made to bury his face in his hands, Scorpius was surprised to catch a glimpse of skeletal arms as he did so. He fell to his side on the bed, his body curling into a ball as he cried into his hands. He didn't want to be there, he_ shouldn't_ be there. He didn't know why his parents were doing this to him, what he ever done to them to deserve this? Why were they punishing him? It wasn't a sickness to want to be healthy. He wanted to be healthy, it wanted to look good for the angel if he ever saw her again. Did his parents just hate him? Did they want him to be miserable? Did they want him to be bullied? Bullied...

As soon as Scorpius had picked up on the world, the memory started to shift. This time to a much more familiar location: Hogwarts, with its comforting stone walls and torches. He was surprised to see a change in Rooke, chubby childish arms - in definite contrast to what he'd just seen - were hugged around books he clung to his very sizable girth. He seemed to be quite a short boy and Scorpius would guess was from a younger stage in his life, he waddled along on his equally chubby legs. At some point he must've gone from overweight to underweight to apparently muscular.

"Hey half-blood!" a voice called and Rooke stopping, turning to see two taller boys approaching who may have been Third or Fourth Years. A Slytherin with combed black hair and a Ravenclaw with scruffy brown hair, he felt Rooke give a very nervous smile as he tried to be optimistic as they were talking to him and he was desperate for friends but was fearful due to what he'd experienced so far.

"H-Hey guys," Rooke greeted them in a girlishly high-pitched voice, "What's up?"

"You Heftypuff," the Slytherin answered with a malicious smirk that the Ravenclaw laughed at, "Get it? It's like Hufflepuff because you're a Hufflepuff but hefty because you're so fat."

"Oh right," Rooke said as if he'd understood although he'd got the meaning the first time, he forced a laugh in hopes of pleasing his potential friends and looked down at his bloated belly. Was he really that bad? "I-I get it. Good one, guys."

"You'll love this one, Huffleplump," the Ravenclaw added and it was the Slytherin's turn to laugh hysterically, "Get it? It's like Hufflepuff because you're a Hufflepuff but plump because you're so fat!"

"I-I get, another good one," Rooke admitted ashamedly, his parents had never told him he was fat. He should think of a comeback tough, something to show them he wasn't stupid and maybe they'd be his friends, "And you-you'd be a Raventall."

They both stopped laughing. Arms folded as they glared at the younger boy, Rooke started to feel worried. He'd thought it was quite obvious, he didn't want to offend his potential friends.

"Do you get it?" Rooke asked, "It's like Ravenclaw because you're a Ravenclaw but tall because you're tall."

"That's not funny," the Ravenclaw spat and Scorpius felt Rooke's heart sink.

"It-It's not?"

"No."

"It's not," the Slytherin snapped, "_We_ make the jokes around here, us _pure-_bloods not fat filthy-blooded tubs of girlish lard like you. Don't you pay attention in Muggle Studies?"

"Well yes but-but Mummy is a muggle and she's not all those things they say," Rooke stammered out in confusion, "Daddy says muggles are just people with no magic and wizards are just people with magic, that it's like how some people are boys and some are girls or how some have dark skin and some have light or how some have blue eyes and some have brown. I have met lots of muggles and they don't seem that different to wizards and witches, don't you think we should all try to get along?"

"Oh so you're disagreeing with the Death Eaters?" the Ravenclaw spat.

The Slytherin had already whipped out his wand and the words of his spell were overshadowed by the Ravenclaw's, it was some spell to trip him up though as Rooke's legs were pulled out from beneath him. He fell flat on his face, colliding painfully and bouncing off the stone while his books went flying along with some sweets that Scorpius hadn't noticed. Howls of laughter filled his ears and Rooke's heart sank while tears welled in his eyes, he didn't understand why they were being so mean to him.

"What's going on here?" an adult's shot out and the laughter ceased, much to Scorpius' relief until he spoke again, "Why is this First Year lying on his fat face?"

"She was defending muggles, Professor Carrow," the Slytherin protested as Rooke pulled himself to his knees and started trying to gather up his belongings, "So we... tripped her."

"I'm a boy!" Rooke squeaked in humiliation, dropping what he'd started to gather.

"Keep telling yourself that, Celestine."

"Is this true?" the man - presumably Professor Carrow - asked of Rooke, Rooke turned to look at the man and Scorpius got a look at the pig-like face for the first time. He was squat and lumpy, hunched even with a pallid complexion and tiny eyes that leered down on the poor boy who quailed fearfully, "They tripped you because you were defending muggles?"

"Y-Yes," Rooke admitted nervously and Carrow turned angrily to the other two boys, Scorpius didn't know where to feel confused or relieved before he noticed the man had drawn his wand.

"He was _defending_ muggles and_ all_ you did was trip him?!" Carrow sneered and the two boys suddenly looked like they regretted saying anything, Carrow lost interest in them though as he raised his wand to aim it squarely between Rooke's eyes, "You need to be punished."

Rooke started to tremble as fear washed through, his vision becoming obscured through the wall of tears that built up in his eyes. Scorpius had a horrible feeling the Auror was about to get a taste of the Torture Curse, he did pity him and felt renewed relief Voldemort had been defeated because that was just horrible. Although he did know, whatever he had been through that Rooke was an Auror now. He was high up even with a beautiful wife and child, he was considered handsome himself. Things had gotten better for him, even if he was working for a stupidly corrupt Ministry...

_"Crucio!"_

Scorpius heard Carrow's spell but the pain Rooke felt barely registered as the scene was already changing from whatever he'd thought, Scorpius still lacked control over going through people's memories and - more importantly - hadn't figured out how to remove himself from someone's mind. In the next memory formed, he found himself in one of the corridors in the Ministry which he took to be more recent. Rooke was walking down the deserted dark corridor which Scorpius took to mean it was late as the shadows bounced off the halls, he feeling quite content. It was abruptly shattered as someone grabbed Rooke and slammed his back up against the wall, Rooke fumbled to draw his wand - which made Scorpius think he was either still in training or not yet an Auror as he was of adult height here - but stopped when he saw it was.

Scorpius started in shock, for a second thinking it was Leebin when he saw the attacker's eyes but it wasn't. Or at least not the one he knew. His eyes were exactly like Leebin's except this man's were much more prominent, standing out strikingly rather than being hidden behind glasses as the cyan was a strange shade of blue to see in eyes. Aside from that, he bore no resemblance to the man Scorpius knew. He was older for starters, forties at least with a coarse face worn and lined with age. His features were sharper and more angular, his nose quite flat and he had a scar going diagonally through his eyebrow. He was more robust then Leebin too and not nearly as pale, his faded brown hair was canescent and hung around his head obediently instead of sticking up like Leebin's. He was dressed in Auror robes... Leebin's father had been an Auror, hadn't he?

"Hey Logan, what's up?" Rooke asked of him in the most pleasant tone he couldn't manage, smiling despite the intense dislike he had for the man and hatred seemed reciprocated if Logan's expression was anything to go by.

"What are you doing here, Rooke?" Logan - presumably the man's name - demanded in a rough tone, ignoring the question. His demeanor and tone of voice in direct opposition to his son's - if Scorpius was right in who Logan was - but nonetheless the eyes were the same, sharp and knowing that hid an intelligence that often went unnoticed with Leebin.

"Working. I work here too now, remember?" Rooke pointed out defensively, he did have every right to be there and he was trying to do a good job. For himself, for his angel and to show everyone who thought lowly of him that he could be a good Auror, "What are _you_ doing here?"

"_Real_ work. Bit late for a trainee to be here, don't you think? Especially without their mentor, Harry went home ages ago."

"I want to do a good job, is that a crime?" Rooke snapped irritably, his facade of niceness slipping away, "Its better then what you're doing here, sneaking around in the shadows and grabbing people like a weirdo."

"Respect your elders, boy," Logan growled but nonetheless let go of Rooke's robes, moving his hand away innocently so Rooke could finally right himself where he was on eye level with the older man as he took a step back.

"I do."

"Look, Rooke, you may have everyone else fooled by your nice guy justice loving orphan act but I know you're full of bullshit," Logan told him bluntly and Rooke's eyes narrowed, Scorpius' interest piqued, "I know what you are and I know what you did. As soon as I can prove it, you're going to Azkaban for the rest of your natural life."

"I didn't kill my parents," Rooke insisted and Scorpius wasn't sure if he was telling the truth of not, he felt conflicting emotions of guilt and grief twisting inside him.

"You are you trying to convince?" Logan asked, sounding genuinely curious as he took another step back.

Scorpius felt the memory wrenched away from him though, reality rushed back to him and he fell back as far as possible in the chair considering he was chained to the table. Rooke had no such luck and Scorpius saw him actually fall as he staggered back, hitting the ground and looking very visibly shaken. Both he and Scorpius were breathing heavily, Potter rushed to help him up.

"What happened?" Potter questioned worriedly as he helped his protégé - the potential murderer - up.

"He-He's an Occlumens," Rooke stammered out as he turned to look at Scorpius, shock and fear clear on his face, "A powerful one. He used the connection to get into my mind."

"Did Varanian teach you that too?" Rutherford demanded, "Awfully suspicious, isn't it?"

"Maurice," Scorpius half-lied and sat up straight to defend his apparent skill, "He thought it was useful tool for soldiers to have. I don't_ want_ my mind invaded, not by the Shadows, not by the Ministry, not by _anyone_. I don't care if it makes me look guilty, I should be able to defend myself whether I'm protecting my body or my mind."

"I guess we're not getting anything out of you then," a new voice offered, "Occlumency can also bypass Veritaserum."

Scorpius' head shot in the direction of the speaker and saw it was a man, he was leaning in the left corner of the room with his arms folded and an amused smile playing on his face. He must have entered when Scorpius was in Rooke's mind, the other Auror had left as well but this man wasn't an Auror or at least wasn't in Auror robes. He was dressed quite plainly yet being born into wealth made Scorpius notice his clothes still looked high quality, more expensive than the usual and he had quite a clean look to him. He was maybe slightly taller than average height and of medium built, he was unusually good-looking. His eyes were sharp in a shade of navy-blue eyes, cropped light brown hair and skin void of imperfections. Unlike the other three men, he looked in perfect health and devoid of tiredness which probably was why Scorpius got the feeling he was the youngest. Nonetheless, he had an oddly commanding air about him and quite pointed teeth.

"I'm still right," Rutherford protested, looking desperate again, "I _swear_ he was there with Varanian, I _know_ he was. I saw him, I'll swear to it! I know he's helping him, he's the key to finding-"

"You're fired," the stranger stated bluntly, no longer looking amused while Rutherford's face drained of whatever color it had had left.

"Wh-What f-from Hog-"

"Fired from the Ministry. Get out," the stranger reiterated and a look of utter horror crossed Rutherford's face, his mouth falling open, "You were supposed to protect Hogwarts and you failed, a wanted vigilante did more for the school then you did and that's nothing to be proud of."

"B-But I s-saw-"

"You can see, well done," the man cut him off sarcastically, "I can see too and I see you're a worthless failure, not to mention an angry, rule-bending bigot. Malfoy and Varanian are completely irrelevant to your fate. You're fired. Get out of the Ministry and don't step across my line of sight again or I'll make sure the only work you'll be able to get is in the muggle world."

"Pl-Please," Rutherford begged brokenly, looking actually on the verge of tears but the man's stoic face didn't waver, "Th-The Ministry is all I have left."

"Rooke, escort him out please," the man commanded and surprisingly, Rooke obeyed – looking almost relieved at the excuse to leave - and led the hobbling Rutherford out.

"Who are you?" Scorpius couldn't help but wonder in surprise, the man turned back to him with an easy smile returning to his face. Not a friendly one though, more like he was simply amused at Scorpius' ignorance.

"Me?" the man wondered as he approached him and took the seat opposite, "Alaric Layton, I'm only the Minister for Magic."

"Really?"

"No, these people like doing what I say because it's fun," the Minister quipped sarcastically but didn't bothered by Scorpius' surprise.

"Sorry," Scorpius mumbled uncomfortably, "You're not in the papers that much."

"Force of habit," Layton shrugged as he leaned back in his seat, "Besides, it's my belief that the best leaders aren't those who are constantly seeking attention."

"What do you want with me?" Scorpius asked curiously after a moment's pause.

"Well firstly, I'd like to thank you. Your efforts in this war are often ignored despite the good you've done."

"I don't care about recognition," Scorpius shot out immediately, "Even if I knew where Varanian was, I wouldn't tell you."

"I don't doubt it, my gratitude is genuine," Layton insisted, holding up his hands as if innocent, "You and your friend's way of countering the werewolf bracelets was especially genius."

"But... But that was _your_ law..?" Scorpius wondered in absolute confusion which Potter seemed to share, Layton laughed.

"I came into office when werewolves were at their most unpopular in a long time, I had to do_ something_ or I wouldn't have been Minister for very long," Layton told him seriously, "That's the problem with the Ministry, with politics. I can't just do whatever I want the way that a leader like Varanian can, you have to juggle _trying_ to do what you want as well as keeping all people happy enough with you that you can keep doing so which isn't easy when everyone has conflicting opinions, as well as figuring out what is the best thing to do as well as running a country, as well as trying to not get yourself killed like my predecessor or at least not killed too quickly. I'd consider it quite an honor if I did make enough of a difference for them to_ want_ to kill me. But I digress, trust me when I say I did despise that law more then you could possibly imagine but there were a lot worse that other candidates wanted."

"You sent the counselors that were mostly spies," Scorpius pointed out, he was quite sure Layton was just saying that because he knew Michael was his friend.

"My attempt to weed out Soul Eaters. Hogwarts houses the next generation of magic, it is kind of imperative they not be killed or corrupted."

"You sent Rutherford."

"Just because he ended up being a bad choice, it doesn't mean the idea of altering Hogwarts' security measures is a bad idea. Elwood's a blithering idiot and I can't get rid of him, on one side he's no Soul Eater but on the other he's pretty useless if anything happens," Layton offered, sounding pretty rational, "If it was up to me, Calderon would be Headmaster, he's trustworthy and capable of keeping Hogwarts safe. But alas, he seems to have a strange aversion to any kind of leadership role."

"Why are you telling me this?" Scorpius asked of him in confusion.

"Because I get the impression you don't like me, I feel honest explanation might ease that. You should count yourself lucky, I don't often do this. After all, you are my only link to Varanian," the Minister explained and Scorpius felt anxiety building up inside him again, "I don't whether Rutherford's right or not, frankly I don't care. Varanian knows more about the Soul Eaters then we do, his knowledge of the retreat symbol proves that because working outside the bounds of law has its advantages and he is of reasonable intelligence as well as skill. I want to know what he knows, what you know."

"I don't know anyth-"

"Please, if I'm being honest with you the least you could do is to not insult my intelligence by lying to me," Layton interjected holding up his hand, "Just because my Father didn't allow to me to attend Hogwarts, it doesn't mean I'm a fool or unskilled in magic. The polite thing to do is to just to not say anything."

Scorpius said nothing.

"Very good," Layton complimented him patronizingly, "I know there's Soul Eaters, and it's a fact. There are very few people I have absolute certainty in being against them, you and Harry over there are two of them. If nothing else in the world, we have that in common. I can't promise Varanian safety or immunity, I'm not sure if I could ensure it even if he knows enough to earn it but we are on the same side against the Soul Eaters and knowledge isn't just power but the key to stopping them. Which is what we all want regardless of anything else, we should be sharing what we know not fighting amongst ourselves even if it's in secret. Tell Varanian that, if he tells me what he knows then I'll tell him what I know and we can both walk away. Or if you tell me on his behalf. I don't know how your alliance - and I believe it is a genuine alliance, you don't strike me as disturbed and brainwashed - works but I have a feeling you have a higher change of running into him in the near future then I do. In exchange, this whole aiding a future thing business goes away. Right, Harry?"

"Right," Potter muttered, he didn't seem to have much of a choice in the matter anyway.

"Do you understand?" Layton asked of him and Scorpius swallowed nervously, still not really trusting him and afraid it would be an admittance of guilt to agree to it.

"I understand," Scorpius said finally, hopefully it wasn't a death sentence to admit he understood and Layton nodded in acceptance as he stood.

"See to it that young Malfoy here is released, Mr Rutherford was sadly mistaken and we apologize to the Malfoy family for distressing them," Layton stated dismissively to Potter as he went to leave, walking away without another word and they both watched him leave. Potter staring after him as if lost in thought.

"S-So that's the Minister, huh?" Scorpius spoke up awkwardly, wanting both to break the silence and to remind Potter that he was there. He still didn't like being in chains.

"Apparently," Potter sighed but turned back to him, drawing his wand and waving it over the chains that vanished immediately.

"You haven't met him before?"

"I have, I just don't see him often. He has some chronic illness or claims to anyway so he stays home a fair bit, leads from afar," Potter told him as Scorpius said and the emerald eyes watched him with a strange expression, "So you know Occlumency, huh?"

"Yes," Scorpius admitted and thought of something, "And while... while I was experiencing Rooke's memories I saw something, this man Logan was accusing him of-"

"Of killing his parents, I know," Potter cut him off, "He didn't."

"Then why did Logan think he did? He seemed so sure and if he killed his parents then maybe he's done other bad stuff."

"Cel is not a Shadow!" Potter protested firmly and irritably, confusing Scorpius slightly as he hadn't said quite that and it must have shown on his face, "I'm sorry, there are just so few people I trust now that I'm protective of those I do. Cel is a good man."

"Then why did Logan think he wasn't?"

"Logan Leebin used to be a great Auror, my mentor even but he went insane. An irrational vendetta on Cel was part of it."

"You think he was insane_ just_ because of that?" Scorpius scoffed in disbelief and Potter looked almost offended before shaking his head sadly.

"No, I think he went insane but he was," Potter said and looked regretfully solemn, "He became paranoid, delusional and violent. The darkness. It was always the darkness. He was convinced darkness was stalking him, not regular darkness but evil darkness. He suffered hallucinations about it and attack anything to try stop this darkness, destroying anything and harm anyone in his attempts to do stop it or even save people from it. He became increasingly violent and psychotic, not just with suspects but innocents up to and including his own family. He ended up suspended him after he brutally attacked and ending up _gouging_ out a man's eyes to try save him from the darkness. That was what he delusionally believed, he also was convinced that Cel was in league with the darkness. The only reason he didn't end up in the locked ward in St Mungo's was because his brother was a Healer and kept him out of it, he might've been better off there though as he ultimately killed himself while he was suspended. You're barking up the wrong tree, Scorpius, you shouldn't be barking at all."

"What?" Scorpius wondered in slight confusion.

"You're a teenager, not a solider. This war isn't your fight. Stop trying to find Shadows and run to danger, enjoy your childhood while you have it."

"You fought-"

"You're _not_ me," Potter protested, "I didn't have a choice, you do. Don't let Varanian drag you into this war that you're not prepared for, you'll get yourself killed."

"Well maybe my choice is that I'd rather get myself killed doing something good then live knowing I did nothing while the world fell to the Shadows," Scorpius shot back irritably, "You're not the Chosen One this time, there's no Chosen One and no grand plan. At the end of the day we just have to do what's right."

"Varanian doesn't know what he's doing and what he is doing is wrong-"

"So is torturing someone who's incapable of moving and responding! At least he knows that," Scorpius spat out before he could stop himself and Potter froze, realization shimmering behind his spectacles as Scorpius had given himself away as he couldn't know that unless he'd at the very least had contact with Varanian since yesterday.

"Let's go," Potter whispered as he opened the door, apparently not wanting to speak to him anymore now he knew he was guilty and Scorpius felt a sliver of fear that he wouldn't be leaving the Ministry today after all, "You get a free pass as the Minister decreed but you'll be under surveillance until you go back to Hogwarts. You walk on a dangerous path now."


	18. Chapter 18: Home At Hogwarts

_**Parts (73-75)**_

* * *

**V  
**

**Chapter 18  
**

Home At Hogwarts

* * *

**Part 1:** The Return

* * *

Scorpius returned home rather unhappily with the thought of having an escort, he couldn't risk going to Varanian and he still had a week of his suspension to kill. Missing out on a week of training was rather irksome, he wouldn't even mind if it because he was back in Hogwarts and could see how his friends were doing but it wasn't. He was just stuck at home with his family, who at least had been kept in dark about his involvement. In fact, they'd taken to either ranting at how out of line the Ministry had taken to think he was involved with Varanian or how glad they were that he'd not been in Hogwarts during the attack.

Of course, they didn't care about how other people had been there and gotten hurt and killed, how thousands of people were now homeless. Even when one of them was his mother's friend, they didn't offer to put them up or give them money or anything of the sort. His mother did buy Maurene a card for her birthday on Tuesday but Scorpius found it quite laughable, he was sure a card would make her feel better about having no home and all of her possessions destroyed. He doubted she'd have been able to have any presents or a cake for her birthday anyway, their money would probably go to helping Lysel. He recalled the potions the baby had needed and how weak he'd seemed when Scorpius had seen him a few days ago, he doubted their situation would be helping him any. The next full moon might very well be his last and here they were, sitting in a mansion on a vault of gold. Did his parents just not realize or just not care?

Scorpius didn't know why it bothered him but it did, after all Myriam had helped them stop the Shadows yet her life didn't benefit. Bad things happened to good people and good things happened to bad. Maybe he felt so bad because it was his fault, he'd had the chance to end it when he was twelve. He'd had the opportunity to kill the Shadow Master and stop the war but he hadn't, he'd been weak like he had with Brutus. Except unlike with Brutus, the Shadow Master had still been a threat so it wasn't excusable. Everything that they'd done since was on Scorpius' shoulders as well, he shared in the blame. That realization made him feel especially unhappy to be doing nothing to help rectify his mistakes, he was just sitting at home playing with his baby brother and his father's awkward attempts to spend time with him.

_Escort still there?_ Varanian's question appeared on the ring the final weekend of his break, the same method he'd used to inform him of his absence.

_Yes_, Scorpius replied and sighed heavily before something occurred to him, _why?_

_Talked to Roman. Things you need to know_

_Tell me with the rings_, Scorpius urged, eager to know whatever it was.

_No. It should be in person,_ Varanian's reply came and Scorpius felt it had a note of finality to it. It also made even more puzzled, what would he need to be told in person?

Unfortunately it seemed it would have to wait until the summer or the next Hogsmeade trip and considering the state Hogsmeade has been in the last time he'd seen it, he didn't think there would be Hogsmeade visits anytime soon. Much to his frustration, he hoped Varanian found another way to tell him. Whatever it was, sure it was more important to just tell him then make sure it was in person. He didn't know and he didn't have any way of knowing, all the same he was glad when he could dress in his Hogwarts robes again in readiness to Floo back to the castle. At the very least, he'd get to his friends again and the OWL work may hopefully make time go fast as he had no doubt he'd be busy with how much work he'd have missed.

"You all ready to go?" his father asked with a knock as he entered Scorpius' room.

Scorpius nodded in confirmation and his father also gave a slight nod in acknowledgement, shifting nervously as if wanting to initiate conversation but being unsure where to begin. It was strange, people often said he looked very alike his father but he also saw the differences. They were both pale, there was no denying that and did have very similar sharp, pointed features although Scorpius' jaw was a bit more square and his father's cheek bones a little higher. His father's face was lined with age and Scorpius had the scar on his chin from Michael's claws, they did both have the same cold, gray eyes though. Their hair was the same white-blond but his father's was slicked back and receding while Scorpius' was thick and scruffier, his bangs hanging freely. They were both slender and tall, his father having just an inch on him now.

"Scorpius, I... I feel like we should talk," his father stated nervously and Scorpius rolled his eyes as he knew what it was about.

"I said I was sorry, okay?" Scorpius insisted but his father didn't listen because when did his parents ever?

"You know when... when you went missing I did look for you, we tried-"

"I know you tried, I know there was nothing you could do."

"But you still resent me," his father protested, looking concerned.

"I don't resent you," Scorpius started to say and also realized that was a lie, sort of, "Not because of that, I just-I just don't... admire how you are. You-You were a bully and a Death Eater, you did bad things and you stood for all the kinds of things I fight."

"I made mistakes in the past," his father admitted, his eyes darting to his own arm for some reason, "I tried to raise you to be a better person."

"That-That doesn't change it, it doesn't change what you did or how you are now."

"Is it really so wrong to want your family to be safe instead of caring about random strangers?"

"No," Scorpius confirmed after a moment's thought and shook his head, "It's not. But if it wasn't for random strangers caring about _me_ then I wouldn't even be here, you can really make a difference sometimes. But you don't, you don't even try. And that's _alright_. It's not great but it's not bad, you're not doing bad but you're not doing anything to stop it. I don't hate you, we're just very different people."

"But you're still my _son_," his father said seriously and Scorpius met his identical eyes, seeing concern, "You don't have to be exactly the same to be family. Your Grandfather and I had our differences too, looking back now though I regret that we didn't have a better relationship in despite of them. I don't want to have the same regret with you, I want us to be closer but all you do is push me away."

"Well you don't even hug me in public," Scorpius protested lamely, he was pretty sure he didn't push his father away... he just had better things to do.

"That's just for propriety's sake."

"It's a hug, Father, I'm not asking you to dress as a ferret then go around jumping in muddy puddles while you sing children's songs."

"Please, don't say ferret," his father cringed but their conversation came to a close as his mother came in with Sol in her arms.

"All ready to go?" she asked him with a smile and Scorpius nodded, "Come on then, you have some OWLs to get back to. Maybe as a reward for all your hard work you can have one of your friends over at some point in the summer, wouldn't that be nice?"

"Even the werewolf one," his father added as if making a point to emphasize he was alright with Michael there, Scorpius supposed Myriam and Lysel had mellowed him on the werewolf issue or maybe it was part of him wanting to be closer. Calling him 'Michael' not 'the werewolf one' might've sounded better though.

Nonetheless, it marked that it was time to go and he was back to his parents encouraging him about OWLs as they headed down to the parlor with his things. He exchanged hugs with his parents and grandmother, gave Sol a cuddle and kiss goodbye before he was finally Flooing back to Hogwarts. He felt relief wash over him as he stepped out of the fireplace in the familiar room of portraits hanging all around, even if they were pretending to be asleep. He expected to see Elwood sitting at his desk or even Rutherford before remembering he'd seen the Minister fire him, instead Calderon was leaning against the desk waiting for him.

He looked the same as he ever did, neat dark black hair, a pale handsome face and dark eyes. He was dressed in muggle clothing, worn jeans and a crimson sweater although had a silver dragon necklace visible and was oddly wearing a black cloak over his usual attire. He also had identical arrow scars of the Tiwaz rune on each hand and a swirl of lights encircling him warmly, he'd been singing a song but stopped when he noticed him. A grin crossed his face and Scorpius returned it as he moved forwards to hug him, glad that his cousin was doing better than the last time he'd seen him. He wasn't much shorter then Calderon now.

"Welcome back, Scor," Calderon offered, still beaming as he pulled away.

"Glad you're okay," Scorpius admitted with relief, unsure if Calderon was aware of his part in the attack and the assistant didn't seem to want to mention it as he shrugged awkwardly. Scorpius knew he'd once been friends with the Shadow Master so it probably had been hard for him to stand up against him, he opened his mouth to ask but instead changed his mind. He didn't want to upset Calderon again, it had only been a week since fighting him so it might still be a sore subject so he changed his question, "Where's Elwood?"

"Don't you read the papers?" Calderon asked, looking slightly surprised and Scorpius shook his head truthfully, "Elwood stepped down, he said he didn't feel capable of protecting the students in these troubled times. He stayed on to help out with covering classes for injured teachers but now Vipera's back, we're okay so he's gone."

"Did we lose anyone?" Scorpius inquired worriedly.

"Midas quit. Straight up said she didn't sign up to die and left almost as soon as the battle was over but no one's dead. No one died though, no teachers anyway as several students did and Rutherford was blamed for not keeping the school secure like he was supposed to. He was fired," Calderon answered him more solemnly, "Vipera, Kresmir and Oring were the staff most severely injured. Vipera's back on her feel barely, Kresmir and Oring are still out of commission though. Krum, Koray and the Librarian are covering their classes and Midas' though so all lessons are back on."

"The Librarian?"

"My idea," Calderon admitted with a faint smile, "I figured students need lessons more than the Library right now, there's pretty much no homework currently anyway as most staff still aren't a hundred percent and the students are pretty shaken themselves. Marigold's pretty busy, there was more injuries then death. The Shadows seemed to want the students alive as much as possible."

"Who's Headmaster now then?" Scorpius asked as it dawned on him, "Are you-"

"No," Calderon shot him down, losing his smile and shaking his head vigorously, "I don't want to be a master. But I am Acting Headmaster again, Elwood stepped down quite unexpectedly and they want to make sure they get someone good for the role. There's only two months left of school anyway and I know the school pretty well, I don't mind temporarily but there'll be someone new next year."

"Well I'm sure you'll do a great job," Scorpius offered encouragingly, thinking Calderon could use a confidence boost. He also recalled the Minister commenting on wanting Calderon to be Headmaster, would they really be trying to find someone else or just string Calderon along with the temporary bit? He wasn't sure but he actually thought he agreed, Calderon would make a better Headmaster then Elwood.

"Thanks," Calderon said meekly, "Although I'd recommend you head down to the Great Hall now if you want to catch some breakfast, I'll make sure your things are sent to your dormitory ready for you."

Scorpius offered his thanks and headed down, finding it slightly strange to be walking halls and passing students calmly going about their business. It was in stark contrast to last week when it had been a war zone and he'd been pelting through them with Varanian, the fate of the battle riding on their shoulders. He supposed that was Hogwarts though, it was only the safest place in the world if they kept fighting for it to be so. He reached the Great Hall and started to head for his seat before stopping as he noticed something was off, the tables were no longer lined by year and gender. It seemed Rutherford's seating arrangement hadn't even lasted a week after his departure, he spotted his assortment of friends - minus the non-Gryffindors - at the furthest end of the table with Maurice as they used to sit.

Scorpius headed towards them, keeping his eyes out for other faces he knew. Antonius and Cassia were sitting at the staff table with their father, the Ashains looking no worse for wear apparently although Professor Ashain had noticeably pale skin on one side for some reason. He spotted Lily sitting with her brother, Lorcan alone at Slytherin, Vern was also sitting with Hugo - who had one arm in a sling - at Hufflepuff but oddly no sign of Orous. Or August at Ravenclaw. Calderon had mentioned people were still injured though, they probably were still recovering. Strangely, hadn't Maurice said Orous had just passed out? The Nott family seemed to have survived and were sitting together, Albus and Abby's significant others also seemed to have survived the fight.

"Scor!" a familiar and very welcome voice called.

He turned just in time to see his girlfriend before she threw her arms around him and smacked her lips against his. Scorpius pulled her closer as he kissed her passionately back, desperately even as he hadn't seen her in over a month after all. The blissful scent of cherries engulfed his senses and he felt his mind tingle as her hands danced through his hair, he ran his fingers through her gentle curls and caressed her soft cheek with his other hand. She felt beautiful to him.

"Hey! Get a room!" Maurice's voice snapped viciously and they pulled apart immediately, breathlessly with faces flushing with embarrassment. Nonetheless, he felt his heart flutter as he drank back in the details of her flawless face and her beautiful sky blue eyes.

"Nice to see you too," Albus quipped sarcastically, drawing Scorpius away from his girlfriend to his actual friends at the table.

"Good to be back," Scorpius offered as he and Molly sat back down at the table, Maurice still threw him a filthy look before standing.

"See you in class," Maurice stated as he slung his bag over his shoulder and stalked off, Scorpius scowled after him in confusion.

"Is he mad at me?"

"Nah, he'll be fine by the time we're in class. He just gets angry with anyone he sees kissing because Lenore died and all," Albus said with a shrug and Scorpius noticed his hand was bandaged, he also a small cut on the side of his forehead.

"I'm the only one he hates permanently," Rose added unhappily.

"He'll come around, he's just stressed," Corin pointed out comfortingly as he squeezed her hand gently, Rose gave him a small grateful look. Presumably they were still together, Michael averted his eyes.

"Stressed because of Lenore?" Scorpius questioned as Michael tossed some food onto a plate and shoved at him, he nibbled at the food as he wasn't that hungry while he noticed Lily's eyes fill with unshed tears behind her spectacles.

"Because of Orous."

"I thought he just fainted?"

"That's what Maurice says but Marigold hasn't been able to wake him," Abby explained, also shouldering her bag as if preparing to leave, "He can't find anything wrong with him either though, there's no reason why Orous should be unconscious still. I'll see you in class."

"Where's she going?" Scorpius asked curiously as Abby also left.

"Hospital Wing. Her brother's in pretty bad shape, she visits him frequently," Latimer informed him as he swallowed the last of his food, most of them did seem nearly done which he took to mean breakfast was almost over and tried scarf his down faster, "Same for Maurice with Orous. There's so many injured that Marigold's stricter with visitors just because he doesn't need a million people running around in the way or we'd visit too."

"What else did I miss?"

"Rutherford's fired and everything's back to normal," Albus pointed out cheerfully through a mouthful of scrambled egg.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Michael chided, he looked uninjured but had a noticeably stubbled face and shadows beneath his eyes. Albus rolled his eyes.

"Yes, Mother."

"Not everything's back to normal but a lot of Rutherford's changes have been undone."

"So what about you?" Molly asked of him before Scorpius could ask anything else, "Care to fill us in on what happened with you and Aaron?"

"Yeah," Scorpius agreed, swallowing quickly as he looked around the crowded hall, "But not right now this second."

* * *

_Tommy burst into tears. Master Rodolphus was dead, what was he supposed to do now? What was he without a master? He didn't know how to get food, water or shelter, he didn't know how to make decisions, he didn't know what to do. He cried himself to sleep and when he woke the next day, he still didn't know. He thought he should bury Master Rodolphus, that was what people did... right? Forcing down the bile in his throat, he collected as many body parts as possible and buried them in the crater as he was afraid he wouldn't be able to climb out if he tried to carry his victim out. That gave him something else to do, he should probably climb out of the crater. It was easier said than done, he had to scramble to climb over the rubble and heave himself over the dirt which was difficult with a body that was used to imprisonment not physical movement. Finally though, he found himself lying out on the dirt staring up at the sky he'd craved. Of course he still had no idea where to go. He started crying again, why had he killed Master Rodolphus? What was he supposed to do without him?_

_"Why are humans always so loud?" a voice spoke and Tommy looked up in shock, head swiveling to see he was in a clearing but trees were around and so was a snake hanging off one of the branches._

_"Hel-Hello?" Tommy half-said and half-asked the snake in Parseltongue, nervous that it wouldn't work._

_"Great. It can speak," the snake hissed, it was a pale brown with a darker pattern going over it._

_"Could you help me? Could you be my master?" Tommy pleaded desperately as he wiped his eyes, "I don't know what to do."_

_"Why do you need a master, Human? We snakes just do as we please. Do as you please."_

_"But I can't."_

_"Who's stopping you?" the snake demanded, "Just do what you want and stop wailing."_

_"I don't even know what I want," Tommy whimpered, curling his knees to his chest, "I don't know what to do or where to go. I have no home, I destroyed it because I can't control my magic. I need to learn to do that."_

_"Go somewhere to learn that then."_

_"But the only place I know would do that is Hogwarts but I'm too old."_

_"Maybe they'll make an exception, I imagine humans wouldn't want other humans to destroy homes of other humans," the snake offered and shook its head, "Humans are strange."_

_"I don't know where Hogwarts is anyway," Tommy pointed out, he didn't think he'd be accepted in Hogwarts anyway, "Or know how to get there. Or how to take care of myself. I'm just going to die here."_

_"What about if I help you?"_

_"You-You'd do that?" Tommy wondered in shock. _

_"Yes, strange snake talking human, I want my peace and quiet," the snake agreed and Tommy looked at the vacant forest around him, what did he have to lose?_

_"Okay," Tommy said with a nod as he stood, holding out his arm to the snake and it slithered onto him, "And my name's Tommy Riddle by the way not strange snake talking human."_

_"I'm a snake," the snake stated, "Now walk, we need to find a road."_

_"What's a road?" Tommy wondered, he thought he'd heard the term before but wasn't a hundred percent certain what it was. The snake paused a long moment before replying._

_"Well I can tell this is going to be a fun journey."_

* * *

Scorpius found it to be quite strange slipping back into regular Hogwarts life because things weren't quite regular in Hogwarts, the effects of the battle were lingering and Aurors patrolled outside for safety now. History of Magic with the ghost of Binns was as dull and boring as ever but the rest were a bit different, as opposed to the push of desperation for OWLs the teachers were going easier on them. Fifth Year and above were the ones who'd been allowed to take part in the battle so there were more injuries and absences then the lower years, even those fine had friends or family injured either in the school or in Hogsmeade. No one minded lateness or absences, they didn't seem to care who was there and who wasn't, homework was a rarity.

The teachers themselves seemed quite battered, Professor Vipera didn't have any visible injuries but she looked rather ill and moved slowly which he took to mean she was recovering from internal injuries. She didn't say as much as usual, preferring to write instructions on the board or give them more free reign and just help if she was needed. Grant and Professor Hagrid were sporting minor injuries, Grant with a bandage over one eye along with a slight limp and Professor Hagrid's ear was swollen. Professor Hagrid seemed to focusing on tamer creatures like Kneazles while Grant mostly did revision and offered support to anyone who felt behind. Professor Longbottom and Elina seemed more unharmed, probably because of the former's experience and the latter's blindness - he very much doubted she'd been capable of taking part in the battle - and had more normal lessons although more easier things and revision still essential. Up close, Scorpius realized Professor Ashain had a minor burn down the side of his face and body in general from grabbing Calderon but it seemed to be healing. His classes were the fullest and focused on defense as much as preparing for OWLs, people listening with rapt attention after the attack. Scorpius thought he'd have a lot of people in his NEWT class next year.

Professor Koray seemed rather exhausted and had his left arm bandaged, the mobility in it seemed impaired but Astronomy was rather usual aside from an absence of homework. He saw him more for the classes he was covering though, he, Krum and the Librarian seemed to alternate in covering Transfiguration, Study of Ancient Runes and Muggle Studies - although Scorpius didn't take that one - so those classes were odd. The Librarian seemed to be the only one to know anything about runes and while his lessons were far from as engaging as Professor Kresmir, Scorpius was still learning and could get help if he was stuck as he was a few weeks behind. Krum and Professor Koray were more clueless and just wrote things on the board for them to copy or had them revise. Transfiguration lessons were an improvement on Midas, they were allowed to practice things at least and Krum in particular seemed experienced with it, the Librarian was quite knowledgeable and even Professor Koray - Transfiguration clearly was not his strong suit - seemed to have some grasp of it despite his uncertainty or unfamiliarity with some spells. In these classes, they were never given homework.

It was strange, the OWLs - and NEWTs in Molly and Latimer's case - where still a dark cloud over the horizon but the focus was on healing not intense study. Scorpius still had quite a workload with trying to catch up, Rose thankfully took notes that she graciously let him use but he had to use Michael's barely legible ones for Divination as Rose didn't take it. In Defense Against the Dart Arts and Transfiguration he was ahead though, Professor Ashain - who hadn't mentioned what had happened at the battle, clearly he had covered for him - was shocked and impressed when he accidentally did a nonverbal spell as he'd become accustomed to with Varanian. He was back to his nightly animagus practice too, it was becoming more nerve-wracking though as he would have to untransfigure it sometimes like when his arm became hairy and muscled like an ape or his ears became hairy and pointed but it wouldn't go. He had an especially tricky time getting rid of a tail that sprouted, he also kept getting fangs and even forgot about them once. It was a good sign in one way but worrisome in another, after all he had no Wyatt to help him if he got stuck.

Quidditch practices were still on, Calderon had rescheduled them to be the last two weeks of May which was probably done for normalcy's sake and to boost spirits in the wake of a terrifying attack. It worked because apparently people were idiots, excited conversations over who would win could still be heard. He supposed it kept people's minds off things and it was fun although it also was somewhat worrisome, Orous - who was Seeker for Hufflepuff - was still unconscious after all. Scorpius had visited several times but he didn't seem any better or different, he looked just like he was sleeping with nothing to indicate injury or ill-health. He'd even managed to ask the stressed Head Healer after a while, the Hospital Wing was crowded after all with extra beds wedged in to feet and the man seemed to be constantly going between patients. His eyes were sunken back into black bags and his skin seemed pasty with a grayish tinge to it as evidence of his lack of sleep to keep up with his duty, his usually neat hair also was a scruffy mess and white roots were showing.

"I really don't know," Marigold answered with a hefty sigh, he also had a cut down the side of his face that didn't look as if it had been treated, "I've been told some extra things about him recently though, I think the problem's in his soul not his body."

On that worrisome thought, Scorpius had been left as the man scuttled over to help someone else. He didn't know if there was even any way to help a soul, after all no one had done anything for it being broken. He didn't even understand why, he hadn't been fighting Specters. All Orous had done was kill his mother... Was that really that bad for his soul? Maurice had killed much more times than his twin without issue, with the Killing Curse to boot. In the first week, Scorpius gathered his friends in the Room That Doesn't Exist to fill them in, along with Lily, Lorcan, Hugo and the Ashain kids who had earned some explanation in this since they had seen Varanian or his accomplices. August and Orous would also be filled in if they ever got better. He'd also told them what Varanian had said about James being a Shadow.

"No!" Albus had shot out immediately.

"Absolutely not!" Lily had insisted at the same time, "James isn't a Shadow."

"An asshole, sure."

"But not a Shadow."

Scorpius had said nothing, he didn't really see the point in trying to convince them. It was the truth and that was just it, he'd seen their faces fall worriedly the way James' cousins had but they'd said nothing more on it. Whether they believed or not, he wasn't sure but it wasn't worth further discussion as Scorpius didn't even know anything more specific to say on the subject. Albus didn't act any different around him anyway, Maurice and Michael were the ones for that. Maurice in general just seemed to be grieving rather than having an issue with him - although he did seem angry with Rose - personally, he seemed either more withdrawn and sad or more irritable and snappish. Like Albus had said, kissing did set him off or anything to do with relationships, he seemed to try to take his mind of it by working. Michael though, was a personal issue. After all, Scorpius had gotten suspended taking the blame for his drinking and Scorpius wasn't even sure he trusted him now.

"I'm sorry, Scorpius," Michael apologized to him the first night back, after everyone else had filed out from the Room That Doesn't Exist when he'd told them about his and Varanian's involvement in the attack, "I didn't want you to get suspended because of me."

"I know," Scorpius admitted and hesitated slightly, "Are you still-"

"No," Michael cut him off immediately, Scorpius studied him suspiciously. He seemed truthful but then Michael was a good liar, "Rutherford confiscated all the alcohol, I haven't touched any of it in weeks."

"Okay."

"Why did you do that anyway? I didn't mind taking responsibility for my actions."

"Rutherford was going to expel you," Scorpius pointed out seriously, "I couldn't let that happen."

"Why?" Michael wondered, much to Scorpius' confusion, "I don't care if I get expelled."

"Yes you do-"

"No, I don't," Michael insisted more forcefully, "I don't care if I get expelled, I don't care anymore, I just don't."

"Well I do," Scorpius stated and studied his friend worriedly, Michael... Michael just looked sad and Scorpius supposed it was a good thing his anger had mellowed in the past few weeks, "What is going on with you anyway? Why were you drinking in the first place? How could you even? You know it's unhealthy, especially the way you were doing it."

"I told you, I just wanted to feel better," Michael admitted with a shrug, looking away, "And I didn't care about the consequences, not until you took the fall for it anyway. I'm not going to drink anymore, I don't even know how I'd get more so don't worry about it."

"I do worry about it, I worry about you," Scorpius said quietly as Michael turned to leave.

"Don't worry about me, Scorpius," Michael offered, turning back to him with a false smile sitting perfectly on his face while he opened the door, "I'm not worth it."

Scorpius did continue to worry about Michael, his attitude only making it worse. Outwardly, Michael seemed to be better though as he was trying in his work again and not avoiding he group but he did remain more withdrawn and he seldom seemed to smile these days. That could be because of the lead up to the full moon though, it occurred in the second week back and Michael ended up spending extra time in the Hospital Wing recovering from the wounds he'd inflicted upon himself. Scorpius really didn't know how to help him, he already was pushing himself with his animagi transformations as much as possible. Even then, he didn't think it would solve all Michael's problems. Scorpius didn't even know where to begin there, he did seem to be staying true to not drinking though or at least he didn't see him obviously drunk or hung over. He did feel suspicious when Michael mentioned having any migraines though.

People did seem to be filtering back into classes, recovering enough to return from the Hospital Wing at least and those he'd seen walking around injured seemed to be gradually healing. Abby reported her brother was doing better as well, Orous wasn't though unfortunately. No change. In the second week, Scorpius also discovered that was when his Career advice session was to be held on Saturday after lunch. It put him in quite a bleak mood as he really didn't want to go through that, he _still_ didn't have a career in mind and unlike with Leebin, he didn't think simply stating something he wanted in the future would satisfy Professor Longbottom. He did still recall his desire to stay with Molly, her leaving him was still a worry after she graduated. Their relationship actually seemed pretty good though, the lack of homework gave them more free time and more time to spend with each other. They still hung out after Quidditch practices, laugh easily together and walking back hand in hand. They'd also started taking use of the Room That Doesn't Exist again, taking the time for snogging sessions - Scorpius had had no issues so far thankfully - or even cuddling up and talking. He just liked being close to her, just liked being around her, he just liked _her_. He always had. And it only increased, he felt so strongly for her.

It wasn't until Friday night that something worrisome happened though and it wasn't even to do with the Shadows, doing his animagi training session his hands had transfigured painfully into hooves. And they didn't untransfigure. And Scorpius couldn't do anything about it because his hands were the thing that had been transformed, his hands were needed to perform the appropriate spell work to undo. With the lack of a Transfiguration professor or Wyatt, he was ultimately forced to walk through Hogwarts in the middle of the night to get to the Hospital Wing in the hopes Marigold could help. He couldn't even access the map so he was quite surprised when he walked into the Hospital Wing. The numbers had thinned out noticeably, they were back to the usual number of beds and not all of them were filled. He spotted August Longbottom in one near the door, his body heavily bandaged and Michael in another as he was recovering from the transformation, Professor Kresmir and Oring were also both in beds near the window slightly apart from the students.

All the patients seemed to be sleeping, however that didn't mean no one was awake. Marigold was standing beside Orous' bed, talking to a man that Scorpius didn't recognize. He looked ancient. Truly ancient. His skin had the texture of parchment, creased and folded multiple times in multiple places. He was short but thin, his liver spotted hands bony and his head bald - and wrinkled - but he did have wisps of white hanging down the sides and back of his head like cobwebs. His features were small too, looking as if someone had crumpled them up and thrown them back down. His nose was thin and small, the sharply shaped eyes pressed too closely and his little, thin mouth close to the nose. He had strange eyebrows too, they looked patchy and scarred as if singed one too many times to grow back in places. He nonetheless had a kind face, he struck Scorpius as a gentle person despite not knowing anything about the man. He was dressed in dull colored wizarding robes and large brown boots, the glint of a wedding ring caught in the moonlight.

"Erm... Excuse me?" Scorpius spoke up nervously as he cleared his throat to draw attention to himself, Marigold had been so focused on their hushed conversation that he hadn't noticed him enter, "Could you maybe erm... h-help me?"

"What have you done to yourself?" the stranger chuckled as Scorpius approached them, his voice was soft, "Trying to become an animagus, are we?"

"N-No," Scorpius lied immediately while Marigold scowled as he examined the hooved hands, the stranger coughed except his was genuine illness not to draw attention, "Just practicing for my OWLs and I did something wrong, I'm tired and I wasn't really paying attention."

"Sure," Marigold said slowly with a note of disbelief before tapping Scorpius' hooves with his wand, relief washed over his body as his hands unfurled from the cramped feeling back into human ones, "I'd recommend you don't do that again. Now have a nice night."

"Thank you," Scorpius offered gratefully as he rubbed his hands, never so glad to feel his grotesquely scarred hand before in his life but his attention was drawn back to the strange as he'd started waving his gnarled wand over Orous, "Are-Are you a healer?"

"An alchemist," the man told him and Scorpius' interest piqued immediately, he was given a kind smile, "My name is Rayan. Rayan Fintan."

"Scorpius. Scorpius Malfoy," Scorpius introduced himself and Marigold rolled his eyes, "What are you even doing to him? What does alchemy have to do with anything? He's my friend."

"I'm only trying to help your friend, I assure you," Rayan informed him before coughing.

"Like I told you before, I think his soul is suffering and Rayan might be able to help so he is," Marigold stated and gestured to the door while the old man coughed again more roughly, "Now go to bed."

"Stuff about souls is taught in Alchemy?" Scorpius asked with interest.

"It's a branch of it, one not often looked into for obvious reasons but yes," Rayan answered quite willingly, "A good friend of mine knows more about it then I do though, however my knowledge will hopefully be sufficient enough to help your friend."

"Why doesn't your friend just help?" Scorpius questioned and Rayan laughed before it became a cough, quite a viscous one at that.

"My friend is not the most social. He has a brilliant mind and is a brilliant man - at least when you get to know him - but he... he is quite the Timonist. I'd have to be on my death bed for him to step foot outside his home," Rayan explained, "Nonetheless, I have spoken to him and I feel I am capable of helping."

"Is there anything I can do? I want to learn alchemy."

"Go to bed!" Marigold snapped at him.

"Yes, rest is valuable and so is staying on a Healer's good side," Rayan added in agreement, coughing yet again, "I may see you next year though if you take my class."

"B-Bye," Scorpius offered unhappily, detecting it was time to leave and the man gave him a final smile.

Scorpius headed for the door, finding himself hoping for the first time that there _was_ enough interest in alchemy for there to be classes of it next year. He glanced back, Rayan had gone back to moving his wand over Orous and Marigold was asking him if he wanted something for his cough. Scorpius turned away, hardly daring to hope that something could be done for Orous and by the morning he'd have his friend back.

* * *

**Part 2: **Friends Abound

* * *

_Tommy headed off with The Snake, following its instructions and staying out of sight of regular people. They kept away from the roads but near enough by to hear the terrifying but apparently normal roar of 'traffic' sometimes as The Snake said they were good guidance, they stayed in the tree line as much as possible although sometimes had to cross through open fields. Things quickly settled into a routine for him and Tommy was quite happy to have The Snake to be his master, or something akin to a master anyway because he didn't want to be evil. And he didn't know what to do. The Snake had to lead him to water so he wouldn't die of thirst, it also had to help him get food that wasn't meat since its own diet consisted of small creatures and insects._

_This led them to humans as Tommy refused to break his vegetarianism and The Snake thought they'd get to Hogwarts faster if he didn't die of starvation, sometimes he'd eat plants or berries or occasionally fruits The Snake ensured him were safe as apparently not all were. Other times, they'd have to go closer to human settlements. Tommy got his first glimpse of 'cars' which were different colored lumps of metal that rolled over the roads very quickly, they needed fuel to eat though so there were establishments alongside the roads occasionally to fill them up which was mostly where they got food from. Humans threw away lots of cool things in large foul smelling boxes, there were usually scraps of food there and other things The Snake told him to leave. He was so tempted but knew carrying junk – as The Snake called it – would slow him down although he kept one thing, a box that played 'music' when you pressed the buttons because it just sounded too amazing to pass up. Why would anyone throw that away?_

_For the first time in a long time, Tommy actually… actually found himself enjoying life again. It was kind of nice – albeit tiring - walking through the countryside with the wind in his hair, seeing the world for the first time and the beautiful landscapes with space not walls with locked doors. Just space, there was so much space. The world was larger than he'd initially imagined for certain, there was so much to see. It was also nice not being beaten and tortured, his body was still aching and battered from the injuries he'd already accumulated but it was still an improvement. Sleeping on the ground at night was also an improvement compared to where he'd been previously, he was cold but the Dementors had made it cold anyway and he had space to stretch out his legs, the soft dirt was also more comfortable then solid concrete. Sometimes random fires would pop up when he was cold anyway, magic was a constant presence as things seemed to just happen with a flurry of yellow lights being quite normal and other things if his mood changed._

_The Snake was also a pretty decent companion, it was nice not being around someone who constantly hurt him. Strange. But nice. He got the impression The Snake thought he was stupid sometimes though, or at least painfully naïve which Tommy realized he was. He found The Snake's knowledge interesting though and he liked hearing about things, The Snake's perspective was quite different to the Death Eaters which was what he was used to and The Snake didn't seem to know or care much about the magical world. Tommy was dreading when the journey would end, he kind of liked the thought of just wandering around and avoiding people who hurt him with just The Snake for company. Unfortunately it had to though, The Snake wanted to return to its home and Tommy did still need to learn to control his magic._

_"Here we are," The Snake announced as they came to some intimidating looking gates, slithering down his arm and onto the ground as he did so. Tommy swallowed fearfully, "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is just through those gates."_

_"Won't-Won't you come with me?" Tommy asked meekly._

_"No, I am eager to get back to my home and I have to travel," The Snake offered and Tommy hung his head sadly, feeling his eyes tearing up at the thought of being alone in the world again, "But I wish you luck, Tommy."_

_The Snake's well wishes made him feel a shred better and he offered him the same as he made his way over to the gate, each step small and taken with trembling feet. His whole body shook from fear and his body suddenly felt incredibly heavy to drag along for this ludicrous task his mind had set him, he reached it and gazed up fearfully at the towering twists of wrought iron and the columns with the scary looking things on top either side. He stood there uncertainly, wrapping his arms around himself for pitiful comfort and shifting on the spot. Maybe this was a bad idea, he'd be much better off trying to find other Death Eaters to master him. Or his sister even. He had no idea how to do that though, no idea where anyone would be._

_"Who's here?" a voice questioned._

_Tommy screamed in terror, falling back onto the ground as he did so and crawling back cowardly. Tears filled his eyes, expecting a flash of the Torture Curse to pierce him or a blow to come as he'd become accustomed to with Master Rodolphus who was the only person he'd had contact with for several years. None came though and he shifted his eyes fearfully to see the figure that'd approached the gates, clearly visible in the sunshine as a ferocious man several times taller and wider then Master Rodolphus with wild hair on both his head and face. Tommy supposed he mustn't look too much better, his own hair was a long, tangled mane matted with filth and his face was scratchy with possibly the beginning of a beard. His own clothes were little more than rags hanging off his emaciated, bruised body and were absolutely filthy, his own stench was repugnant but he'd become accustomed to it as it had been a long time since he bathed._

_"Pl-Please don't hurt me," Tommy whimpered, his voice sounding very small as he pleaded with the ferocious man while tears welled in his eyes at the thought of how much a beating from this man would hurt, "I j-just n-need t-t-to learn to control my m-magic."_

_"I'm not goin' t' hurt yeh, alright?" the stranger offered with a softened expression as he opened the gate, Tommy couldn't help but yelp in fear and quail away, "I said I'm not going t' hurt yeh, okay? Relax, no need t' be afraid. Now why don't yeh come with me an' I'll take yeh to the Headmistress, how does that sound?"_

_"O-Okay," Tommy agreed shakily and stood on quivering legs, the giant of a man standing holding the gate open for him, "Th-Thanks."_

_Tommy swallowed with a mixture of fear and anxiety as he strode through the gates, the man closed them with an ominous clang behind him. He realized they reminded him of Azkaban, the bars on the cell door... He felt something touch his shoulder gently and leaped about a foot in the air, yelping again in terror at being hurt and an odd river of water appeared near him. It was just the man though and he was making no move to hurt him._

_"Sorry, didn' mean t' startle yeh. Yeh were just starin' off there an' not responding an' all," the man pointed out and Tommy relaxed a fraction._

_"S-Sorry," Tommy apologized himself, his behavior probably wasn't normal._

_"S'alright, come on now."_

_The man started leading him and Tommy followed, taking in the famous grounds of Hogwarts as he walked. Grounds his parents had once walked, grounds his ancestor had once helped found. Did he deserve to walk in their footsteps? He, who had turned away from their beliefs? He, who had only his own damaged brand of magic? He didn't think so but it was kind of too late to turn back now. He was led into the magnificent castle and through the hallways that were devoid of the expected students, the man pointed out it was the summer break when they went home which explained it. Finally he was taken to a gargoyle that reminded him slightly of Brutus and up a flight of steps into the Headmaster's - or in this case, Headmistress' - office, portraits filled the walls and he spotted the famous Sorting Hat on a shelf. He allowed himself a brief sliver of excitement as he wondered what house he'd get, first though he'd need to be accepted. _

_"So who's this?" the woman sitting behind the desk asked with a sharp curiosity, peering at him over her spectacles and Tommy realized for the first time he wouldn't be able to use his real name if he was to have any chance of being allowed to learn magic. If he was to have any chance of simply not being dragged back to Azkaban by Dementors, no one could know he was Voldemort's son._

_"Marius," Tommy blurted out the name of the squib Master Rodolphus had often compared him too, he associated the name loosely with himself anyway. He'd need a last name though, he should pick something he liked the sound of, "Calderon. My name is Marius Calderon."_

* * *

It worked. Maurice told them excitedly - and smiled for the first time that Scorpius had seen since he returned, possibly the first time since Lenore's death - the next day at breakfast that Orous has woken up, Marigold even allowed them to visit as a group since he'd be out soon enough. Whatever the alchemist had done had clearly worked, Scorpius was impressed and intrigued. If he'd managed to fix whatever was wrong with Orous' soul from killing, maybe it was possible to fix broken souls? Or undo whatever Jack had done to himself with the Specter? Even if Michael didn't say anything, he was sure his father's status weighed on him. Although Scorpius did discover it had not worked completely with Orous.

"Killing rips the soul, especially with the Killing Curse because you are using your own magic - which comes from your soul - specifically take someone's life," Orous explained quietly, crimson eyes darting around slightly uncomfortably, "Because my soul is already damaged, it ripped it much more severely. They did their best to ease the damage so I'm sort of okay again, some of my memory is missing and I feel more disconnected then before but I'm alive I guess."

"It's just good to have you back," Vern offered, sounding unbelievably relieved as he clapped his fellow Hufflepuff on the back which had Orous smile slightly.

"I can't believe how long I've been asleep, it feels like no time has passed at all for me," Orous said with a sigh but his voice was more normal volume, "It could've been worse though, I could've destroyed my own soul when it ripped so I need to not kill."

"You should tell that to Antonius too," Scorpius added to Maurice, recalling him encouraging the boy to learn Unforgiveables and the deaf child nodded with his expression still neutral.

"What don't you remember?" Michael asked strangely, sounding worried and looking tired still from the full moon a few days ago but he'd left his bed to come over to see Orous, "Do you remember the battle and getting to Hogwarts?"

"Err... Not really, I remember my moth- I remember Alzay but nothing really before that until when I was home for break," Orous answered thoughtfully as he scratched his chin, "Why?"

"N-"

"Orous!" a girl's voice cried and they moved aside slightly to see Lily, her eyes brimming with tears and her lip quivering. Albus sighed.

"Don't suppose you happened to forget that you were-"

"Nope," Orous cut him off and turned to face his girlfriend, opening his arms slightly to indicate she could hug him. Lily bolted for him and threw herself against him, squeezing him tightly and crying into his shoulder, "It's okay."

"I'm so glad you're okay," Lily whispered, every syllable filled with relief.

Albus gave a grunt of disapproval and out of the corner of his eye, Scorpius noticed August a few beds down turning his head away unhappily. Someone muttered something about getting breakfast and they headed out to give the couple some privacy, even Albus left without a word despite scowling. Scorpius took this to mean he was coming around to the idea of his little sister dating, hopefully. He still had his career talk with his Head of House later though, his relief for Orous and dread for the talk cancelled out to put him in a more neutral mood as he counted down the house to getting it over with. Finally, he headed down to Professor Longbottom's office and rapped reluctantly on the door.

"Come in!" Professor Longbottom called and Scorpius entered the room, "Don't be shy now, come sit down."

Scorpius turned his head and took in the room, there was a desk that had numerous photographs wedged onto it along with an assortment of plants while more greenery lined the window. Behind the desk was the bejeweled sword of Godric Gryffindor that Scorpius had used last year, regretfully he recalled destroying Ashylos but unfortunately the Scepter hadn't been beyond repair. Professor Longbottom sat behind his desk, he looked tired and worn with grays starting to crop up in his hair but uninjured aside from the prosthetic he'd had for several years now. He was scrambling through a pile of parchment buried behind the other things cluttering his desk while Scorpius sat down in the battered seat opposite him.

"So unfortunately you didn't get to take your second set of End of Term Examinations but we have your grades from the time and notes from teachers since then," Professor Longbottom began, sliding on a pair of half-moon spectacles that seemed new as he peered at the pages in front of him, "You're doing well, bouncing between Es and Os for most subjects with only History of Magic holding you back. This is quite common for a lot of students to be fair, even there you're scraping an Acceptable currently. Your suspension has set you back a bit but nonetheless you should walk out of here with some decent grades, you're a bright student and a hard worker. So have you given any thought to what you'd like to do as a career?"

"Yes," Scorpius offered semi-truthfully, he couldn't help that nothing sprang to mind and it was a stupid thing to worry about. Professor Longbottom looked at him expectantly but he didn't elaborate.

"So anything you're interested in?"

"No."

"No?" Professor Longbottom repeated in surprise.

"No, there's nothing I've thought of that sounds good."

"Well, your grades are excellent. Have you thought about a career in the Minist-"

"No!" Scorpius shot out immediately, vehemently opposed to the idea, "I don't want to work for the Ministry, they're corrupt and horrible. Why would I want to spend the rest of my life behind a desk pushing papers anyway? It's not like I need the money."

"Fair enough," Professor Longbottom said carefully, "Well you excel at Defense Against the Dark Arts and have a habit of fighting with the Soul Eaters, have you given any thought to becoming an Auror? Then you'll get paid to fight Dark Wizards and not constantly be in trouble for it."

"No," Scorpius insisted, not wanting to touch the corrupt institution with a broom handle, "It's still the Ministry."

"Okay I get it, no Ministry," Professor Longbottom mused, holding up is hands as if it would prove it, "Do you think you'd be interested in something_ like_ that then? Because you could work privately."

"No," Scorpius scoffed, recalling the bumbling idiot taking credit for saving him. He didn't know what kind of shady people would prefer that over the Ministry anyway. The professor sighed.

"Well that's getting nowhere. What subjects to you like?"

"Spell work like Defense Against the Dark Arts and Transfiguration. Study of Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures is fun too."

"Okay, how about a career as Magizoologist? You could even go more specialized with certain creatures, does that interest you?"

"Not really," Scorpius admitted.

"What about something with spell work then? You could work as a Spell Inventor or an Obliviator? Metal-charming and broom-making also need a lot of spells."

"That all sounds pretty boring though."

"How about Curse-Breaking them? It utilizes Defense Against the Dark Arts and Runes, it's far from boring."

"I don't fancy lots of time abroad."

"What about a teacher then?" Professor Longbottom offered, starting to sound slightly exasperated and Scorpius laughed at the tedious thought of teaching classes every day, "It can be quite rewarding."

"I want to leave Hogwarts," Scorpius decided to give as his answer, "I don't want to be stuck in classrooms forever."

"Well I notice you put your name down for Alchemy classes next year, are you interested in a career in that?"

"Not really," Scorpius admitted for a second time, "I just thought it sounded a bit interested and Maurice was desperate for it."

"Okay," Professor Longbottom sighed as he straightened up his papers, Scorpius hung his head sadly at his lack of career in mind but the professor's tone softened, "Look, it's not the end of the world to not have a career in mind right now, it's helpful but not disastrous. You are smart, Scorpius, you have a lot of potential. Just keep working as you are to get plenty of OWLs and take as many NEWTs as possible, that way you're more likely to have what you need and if you still don't know then you'll still look like a good potential hire. Do keep thinking about it though, there are leaflets in the Common Room and my door is always open if you want to talk to me about it further. Alright?"

"Alright," Scorpius nodded, feeling slightly better about it and he looked back up to see the professor give him a warm smile that he returned weakly, "Thanks."

* * *

_It turned out Tommy - or Marius Calderon as he had called himself - was too old to attend Hogwarts, however McGonagall agreed to hire him so he could kind of learn and work. Tommy was caught somewhere between terrified and excited at this prospect, he could only hope it paid off before he ending up murdering people. Or animals, he was terrified of hurting Hagrid's animals. He loved animals but feared hurting them. And of hurting the staff. And of his identity being discovered and being sat back to Azkaban with the Dementors._

_It was different then he'd thought though, he was given his own room which was decent sized with a bed and windows. He wasn't tortured or beaten, he was given clean clothes though and encouraged to take use of the showers. During the day, he went between Filch and Hagrid learning how to care for the castle and its grounds. Hagrid was always kind to him while Filch was grumpy, however he still was never harmed. Even when he failed and went to pieces expecting to suffer, he wasn't harmed. It was really quite bizarre to him, it had been a long time since he could screw up without facing Master Rodolphus' wrath._

_His fear was getting to him and he woke frequently from nightmares where magic would lash out of him, often shattering the windows and forcing Filch to fix them. Eventually the caretaker got fed up, he cleaned out a broom closet and turned it into a bedroom for him as there were no windows to break which worked better. The room was barely big enough for a bed, Tommy felt right at home except comfy because beds were nice. And the food! They are three times a day, ate more food then he'd ever seen in his life. It was incredible, so many different tastes and varieties of food that he'd never known. It was so delicious and there was plenty of non-meat for him to try, he couldn't believe food could taste so good. And drink, he got to try pumpkin and other kinds of juice, cocoa, Hagrid also introduced him to tea. He was quite amazed. He wouldn't try alcohol though, he had a hard enough time dealing with his magic without being drunk where he'd heard people went a little crazy. And talkative, he didn't want to end up blurting out his secret._

_The school term started and Tommy got to meet the other staff, get a glimpse of what it was like for regular students and he was happy to see other - well just children learning. Tommy wasn't a child anymore, his demeanor did make him seem younger though. Tommy actually started to really enjoy himself, the bruises faded away and he found he could relax - mostly - into his new situation. It was wonderful to not feel a prisoner, to have the run of the castle and be able to go as he pleased. Even the jobs he enjoyed, it felt good to be able to complete tasks after years of nothing but failing Master Rodolphus. And the people were so nice, no one was hurting him. He'd forgotten what it was like to just not feel hurt. He quickly bonded with Hagrid especially over their mutual love of dragons and other creatures, Filch was more difficult though and seemed to just hate him. The only two things he really didn't like were Quidditch - people could get hurt! - and Peeves, the other ghosts were alright but Peeves was always mean. And always making messes, always teasing even though Tommy was nothing but nice to him._

_And it was Peeves that proved to him that he was still dangerous, after an excessive amount of hassling and mocking him while he was trying to clean floors. Tommy couldn't take it anymore, he felt a surge of anger and a burst of magic shot out. There was a blinding white light that erupted from him as he screamed 'stop' and a deafening thrum, Tommy felt extremely drained and fell to his knees as the feeling passed. He looked up to apologize but found Peeves had vanished, Filch was just there standing at the end of corridor staring in surprise but no Peeves. Tommy didn't know whether he'd been banished or destroyed but Peeves never resurfaced, they couldn't find him anywhere and never did again. Tommy felt really terrible despite his dislike for the Poltergeist, however this act seemed to earn Filch's approval and his attitude to him changed completely. The caretaker started being nice to him then, praising his work and encouraging him with his magic, he even took the lock of Tommy's door because Tommy feared locks. He discovered Filch actually was a squib, he worked at Hogwarts in desperation to feel connected to the magical world of his birth while still feeling bitterly upset at seeing children learn what he could not. He also didn't say it but he envied Filch's status. It must be nice not worrying about accidentally hurting anyone._

_Tommy thought it just went to show that there was more to people than meets the eye, with that in mind he made more of an effort to get along with the other staff not just Hagrid and Filch as he was getting more confident. He also made more of an effort to work on controlling his magic, he couldn't stop it coming out but he could try to channel it into something safer like lights or the music he'd loved. He quite liked getting to know them, other people were so interesting when you listened and it was nice to converse with others. It wasn't something he'd gotten to do in his childhood after all, he'd been very limited in whom he could speak to and like with The Snake, it was nice to see different perspectives to what he was used to. He also found that as their relationship improved, they'd ask him for favors and help with certain things. It wasn't entirely one-sided, like Hagrid bought him his very first gift or the Librarian helped him find books to aid him in his quest to control his magic or the Muggle Studies professor giving him new batteries for his music player - actually a cassette player - which was apparently why it had stopped working. He felt the need to okay certain things they asked with McGonagall first and this was the point he started to become a more general assistant, flitting about for to help the staff._

_He'd become so complacent with the life of Marius Calderon that he'd almost forgotten the risks until the anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts, a memorial was held there. It was a horrifying experience, seeing others celebrating his father's death but knowing it was kind of deserved as his father had done some horrible things. He met Harry Potter and Molly Weasley for the first time, only in passing really and not having a real conversation but nonetheless, he met his parents' killers... And yet, he couldn't hate them for what they did. He couldn't be glad for what they'd done either but he couldn't hate them, his parents had the ones trying to cause harm and death. His parents. Because as much as he truly wanted to be Marius Calderon the assistant, he knew he was Tommy Riddle the son of Voldemort and as soon as everyone else knew that, his world would crumble around him and everyone would turn on him. Like Filch, he could never truly belong because of his heritage. He tried to be who he chose to be not who he was born to be he couldn't change his blood._

_He left the memorial and went to where he'd heard the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets was, he spoke Parseltongue to open it and slipped down to walk the halls of his ancestor to feel some connection to his bloodline. He stared down into his reflection in the water, wishing he could be anyone else. He didn't look that different really, he was taller and still thin despite not being skeletal with dark eyes and black hair like his parents that was wavy and hung over his face much like it had been most his life. After he returned to the main castle, he got a knife and cut his hair to look less like the scared little Azkaban-born boy. He was Marius Calderon now, that was who he wanted to be, who he'd chosen to be._

* * *

Scorpius was relieved to have his career session over and that Professor Longbottom was satisfied with him not knowing yet, he had no issue with just getting on with his work which was the point of school after all. The next day it was revealed in the_ Prophet_ that the Shadows had made their next move, not on England but rather Istanbul which was the largest city in Turkey. Scorpius felt a sliver of relief his country was fine that was weighed down by an iron ball of dread, how long would Turkey last now they had the resources of Greece at their disposal as well? Somehow he doubted the Turkish would have any more luck fending them off then the Greeks had, they may have saved Hogwarts - for now - but the war was far from won. That was where he wanted to be, fighting to stop them not fighting to stay awake through Binns' class.

"Hey Cassia!" Albus called out randomly as the little girl went to walk past them to get to the staff table for breakfast, giving her a grin, "What's up?"

"The Shadows attacked Turkey," Cassia answered, looking quite grim, "And I mean the country not the bird. It's a real country. My Daddy told me so."

"Pfft. Who cares about the Shadows?" Albus scoffed, earning him incredulous looks from essentially every one of his friends within earshot, "There's more important things to worry about."

"Like what?" Cassia wondered suspiciously with an expression uncannily like Professor Ashain.

"It's your birthday tomorrow, isn't it?"

"Yeah. So?"

"So we should celebrate!" Albus announced excitedly, "Have a party and stuff like you wanted last year, we'll all come because we're friends."

"I-" Corin started to protest, not looking pleased at the thought of being roped in to attending the little girl's birthday part.

"Shut up, Corin."

"No thanks," Cassia said with a shake of her, wiping the smile of Albus' face and replacing it with an expression of shock, "I don't care about birthday parties anymore, I'm a big girl now and I'll be eight, too old for childish useless crap. I'm a soldier now and in ten years I'll be an Auror and in twenty I'll be the Head Auror."

"Good to know," Albus muttered, watching Cassia walk away with an expression somewhere between sorrow and surprise, "They grow up so fast... Ashain's kids are still weird though."

Scorpius gave a disinterested shrug, more focused on the Shadows still. He did his best to distract himself with school which did work to some extent, the more time passed since the attack the more things seemed to be returning to normal in regards to classes - his friends told him Oring the Muggle Studies professor was back as well - and homework. OWLs and NEWTs started to become a big focus again, their importance once more beginning to be emphasized, however it all came second to Quidditch. Everyone was eager for the final matches, it seemed to be something to lift up people's spirits anyway including his friends and his girlfriend had them training extensively. The Hufflepuff versus Slytherin match was just the weekend after his career advice session and the Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw just the week after that. Gryffindor and Ravenclaw were currently tied for the lead, Slytherin had a chance of recovering if they won against Hufflepuff by a lot and Hufflepuff... well they had a chance of not coming last and he wasn't sure how well they'd do considering Orous had only recently gotten out of the Hospital Wing.

The weekend crept up on them surprisingly quickly and before he knew it, they were sitting outside in the sunshine and gentle breeze waiting for the match to begin. He and his friends were also sitting with Lily, Hugo, August and Lorcan as Abby wanted to sit with her younger brother, August having only just been allowed out of the Hospital Wing the day before last and still looked peaky. Albus and Lorcan sat alone as Slytherin supporters in a swell of Hufflepuff, Albus determinedly showing his support for his girlfriend the Slytherin Captain Grozda Krum while Lorcan was a Slytherin himself. Abby's boyfriend the Ravenclaw Captain, Sequoia Pentakel, was dutifully sitting with his girlfriend as well with his arm around her and a badger sweater. Maurice was sitting off to one side staring vacantly off at a segment of sky nowhere near the pitch, looking lost in his own thoughts and Michael sat beside him rubbing his forehead as if suffering a migraine... Or a hangover, Scorpius couldn't help but wonder suspiciously.

The match started and Slytherin took possession of the Quaffle, weaving through the players with practiced ease and shooting at the hoops almost immediately- Vern blocked it fiercely though sending a cheer through Hufflepuff's supporters. The Slytherin Chasers were very much on the ball that day, they were dominating but Vern was breaking his back - thankfully not literally this time - in order to keep them at bay, even at a distance Scorpius saw the sheen of sweat on his forehead. Inevitably, Slytherin finally got through though with a fancy trick shot from Grozda that Vern failed to save in time which put Slytherin in the lead by ten. It didn't last though, almost immediately after he noticed Orous plummeting like a falling star. He was too fast for the Slytherin Seeker - who admittedly was probably the weakest of the team - and sped past both Bludgers, Scorpius spotted the glimmer of gold he was aiming for and cheered when his friend snatched the Snitch out of the sky. Hufflepuff won, 150 to 10.

It also put Hufflepuff and Slytherin tied for third and last place overall so a series of penalty shots were to take place to decide who was third, prolonging the match. Grozda took the first shot against Vern and... It was saved, Hufflepuff tried against Slytherin next but the shot missed by miles. A different Chaser took a shot against Vern next and... It was saved quite easily, Grozda was clearly superior to her in terms of shooting although Hufflepuff's shot was closer but still saved. The third Slytherin Chaser took a shot against Vern next, it was closer than the Second but still saved with less effort then Grozda and the third Hufflepuff Chaser threw a really close shot but it was ultimately saved. Grozda took the next shot against Vern, looking like she was going to go to the left one but twisting it so it soared to the far right instead. Vern shot towards it desperately as he'd already started moving to the left, stretching out his hand but it narrowly missed his fingertips which put Slytherin in the lead. The third Hufflepuff Chaser took the shot again and... It went in, the Slytherin Keeper foolishly moving to the left - where the others had aimed - despite the fact it was obviously thrown to the right.

Scorpius didn't mind though, it put them back on even ground for the final penalties unless it stayed a draw anyway. His fingers were crossed, winning third place was some victory for his friends at least and they deserved _some_ win. Grozda took the shot again, looking quite confident as she did another fancy shot but this time Vern was prepared and jolted to stop it in one fluid motion that succeeded. It was just down to the Hufflepuff Chaser now, the small boy wiped the sweat from his brow and looking incredibly nervous as he tossed the Quaffle. It was for the highest central hoop, the Slytherin Chaser jolted upwards and the Quaffle brushed his fingertips... but it still bounced back over and into the goal. Hufflepuff won.

* * *

**Part 3: **Final Time

* * *

_Filch took him shopping - apparently Tommy was being paid - after noticing he was going for a new look and he bought a load of muggle clothes he liked, he figured if he looked like a muggle then people would assume his heritage came from unknown muggles rather famous wizards and he simply dressed as he'd been raised. Tommy/Calderon continued as he was, reaching out his friendship to the portraits - although he felt guilty talking to Snape and Dumbledore after what his father had done - and ghosts, house-elves and even the Sorting Hat. He got ever closer to the other professors, having a decent to close relationship with all of them. People started telling him to call them by their first names, including Minerva McGonagall who had taken to teaching him chess which she was fond of and even enchanted an entire giant chess set once. He started calling them by their first names or giving them nicknames, it made feel better that he wasn't the only one using a different name. Even though the reasons were drastically different, he didn't care. _

_He took on more responsibilities as he learned more about how to do things, how the school was run in general. In a few more short years, he knew the school inside and out with even secret shortcuts that Filch had shared with him or he'd discovered. The nightmares diminished from frequent to seldom and Calderon finally succeeded with his magic, making progress with controlling what the magic coming out of him did and ultimately how to make magic happen when willed it. He was happy, this was the life he'd created for himself and he was happy with it for the most part. He missed his sister and sometimes he thought of trying to find Sal but he wouldn't even know where to start, he liked to hope and assume she'd made her own life now and was also happy now the days of Death Eaters were behind, she had been in the nice Rabastan's custody. He ended up confiding in Minerva, Ruby - the nickname he'd decided on for Hagrid - and Arg - the nickname he'd decided on for Filch - about his parents being Death Eaters who he implied to not being very kind to explain why he didn't like talking about his past. It was only sort of a lie and they were understanding, they remembered what he'd been like when he first came to them after all. _

_He'd been in Hogwarts five years when the subject of relationships came to mind, the Ministry sent a new apparation teacher. A woman. About his age with long golden hair and sparkling green eyes, milky skin that looked as soft as sand. The soft kind of sand anyway. She was very beautiful and despite being good with people, Calderon had a habit of getting tongue-tied around her. He had strange thoughts about her too and feelings, much like Sal had mentioned years before, he found himself wondering what it would be like to kiss her rosy red lips. It made him realize that he didn't know too much about those kinds of things, especially when Ruby's girlfriend fell pregnant with their child and their relationship fell apart as they came to realize with both of their hesitation to leave their life behind for the other for their child meant it wasn't going to work. They loved each other but not enough. Calderon thought this was the perfect opportunity to ask Ruby about it, his knowledge was extremely lacking as up until that point he'd believed quite stupidly that babies were created by magic._

_Ruby encouraged him to sign up for apparation lessons as it was a useful skill and would give him a chance to talk to the teacher he liked, he failed spectacularly at both though. He didn't know how to talk to a girl he liked, he'd missed that out in his teenage years due to his upbringing and now in his mid-twenties it was something people were expected to know. But he didn't. It wasn't as if she'd like him back anyway with his eccentricities, even if she did it was bad. Friendships were one thing but a solid relationship wasn't supposed to be built off lies even if it went swimmingly - although he didn't understand that expression - well, he'd be lying to her about who he was from the get go about his very name let alone the identity to go with it. And then what about if she wanted children? Calderon did love the idea of being a father but any child he had would be cursed with the same ancestry as him, he couldn't inflict that upon his children so he couldn't have any. No, he would have to be alone... Unfortunately._

_It ended up being a rough year - and another painful memorial the year after - though despite the fact Ruby's son was born, Ruby was delighted although he was only allowed to pick one middle name and went with Harry after his good friend Harry Potter. Arg died a few weeks later though. Calderon went to check on him when the caretaker didn't show up for breakfast, only to find he was still in his bed except dead. He'd died in his sleep, it had been peaceful. Not that it made him feel too much better, he'd still lose someone he cared about. And he was to lose another in a different way as Pom-Pom the Herbology professor retired that year as well, someone else gone. He hated it. He hated losing people, he didn't like death and leaving. Not that he disliked her replacement, Nevvy was a nice person but still. From that moment on, he always did his best to convince the staff to stay on even for one more year if they wanted to retire. One more year he hoped would never end because these people were all he had. It didn't always work though... Unfortunately._

_They never hired a replacement for Arg, Calderon just kind of absorbed the man's workload into his own - he could get it done faster with magic anyway - and they never really got around to hiring someone else. Not that he wasn't still spending time with Minerva, if anything he only had more responsibility and became more intertwined with running the school. Minerva would explain more and more about the work, get him involved and lean on him. She also starting encouraging him to look more presentable and keep his hair combed since he'd be seeing people as she had him shadow the staff delivering the acceptance letters to muggle-born parents so he'd be able to do it next year, he also took on more of Ruby's workload as he was now juggling fatherhood - he did visit his son frequently and was allowed to take him home to care for him as well, the fact baby Corin lived in France just made it more awkward - with his regular duties. It almost made him regret his stance on dating and children, there was something heart-warming about caring for an innocent infant or maybe all the crying had just deafened his sense. Corin started walking quite quickly but grasped talking much more slowly, by the time he was three he was up to Calderon's waist and his favorite word was 'dugga' although the meaning was lost on Calderon._

_That year though, the very old Alchemy professor Rayan Fintan fell ill. Alchemy wasn't taught every year but if there was enough demand Fintan was their man, Calderon found him a kindhearted person and had a decent relationship with him. Unfortunately though, he informed them he'd have to sit that year out despite being enough demand for Alchemy so they had to hire someone else. Minerva had him sitting on the interviews to help as they interviewed replacements for the two years, Rayan should be better before that but he didn't think it fair to change the teacher halfway through the education. And that was when Tommy met Varanian again, he actually looked pretty much the same as he had over a decade ago. He could just hope he wouldn't be recognized, he was all but frozen with fear in his seat while Varanian calmly answered Minerva's questions. He did glance in his direction once, his icy blue eyes were incredibly piercing and Calderon/Tommy feared he'd been discovered but they moved away again and he didn't say anything about it. He thought he'd gotten away with it. He thought wrong._

* * *

Scorpius was glad Hufflepuff won the match and Vern especially seemed in better spirits for it, he'd very desperately wanted to win. It marked just a week until the Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw final though, then they'd be into June. The first next was exams for regular years then the two weeks after that were OWLs and NEWTs before the final week of school and the year would be over, then Scorpius could get back to Varanian and find out what was so crucially important that it wait until they met in person.

He'd been right about Hogsmeade trips, there was none until next year - if there was to be any at all - as it was still being rebuilt so no chance to speak to Varanian - who ringed to inquire about it - or even to get Calderon a birthday present. It fell on a Wednesday so he figured the least he could do was pop in and visit his cousin at least, he had been neglecting his cousin of late although Calderon was quite busy with running Hogwarts himself. He did see him at meals though where Calderon sat in the Headmaster's chair, sometimes even waving at him jovially.

Professor Kresmir had finally returned though, looking gravely ill and on crutches but nonetheless he was cheerful and seemed pleased to be able to teach again and Scorpius was glad to have him back. In truth, Scorpius was neglecting most everything throughout that week in favor of Quidditch practices though which was quite unlike him. Still, it was important. The Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw was Molly's very last Quidditch match in Hogwarts, her only chance to leave with a cup. Scorpius wanted that for her, she'd had a rough year with losing her father and he wanted her to have something good to take away from it all as well as the fact he thought she flat out deserved it. She was a dedicated Captain, she worked hard to organize them all and make a good team out of the pitiful amount of people willing to fly under a squib's sister. Scorpius felt more determined to win then he had in his life, he wasn't going to let his girlfriend down.

And so Scorpius found himself sitting in the changing rooms, waiting for the final match to begin against Ravenclaw. Michael was looking in better condition than he had last match, he also didn't seem to be hung-over which was a good sign although he had thrown up earlier but he tended to do that from nerves. Albus was swaying back and forth nervously, sweat already glistening on his forehead while Latimer just sat stoically staring ahead. Roxy was harder to gauge, she managed to look stoic and nervous at the same time but to a lesser extent to the others. Scorpius hoped she was paying attention because she'd probably be their Captain next year. Due to James' expulsion and Carver fleeing, they didn't really have a second Beater as Roxanne had been their Reserve so Rufus Rhett the Reserve Keeper was filling in to get real match experience. And then there was Molly, pacing up and down as she gnawed on her fingernails. Finally she came to a halt and took a deep breath.

"Alright team," Molly spoke up, clearing her throat, "This is it. The final. The last match of the year. My last match in Hogwarts. It's been a strange few years, a rough few years with the war and all but Quidditch has been a constant source of stability. My parents were always focused on my grades and my doing well there, Quidditch was always a way to relax and to get away from that, to just get out there and fly and _win_. Not just doing well or getting a good mark like scores of other people, winning because at the end of the day you were just the better team. It is very rewarding, the feeling of accomplishment that your hard work paid off.

"And I do work hard, meticulously planning detailed schedules for our training but if I've learned anything as Captain, it's that things never go quite as planned. This is why I've been incredibly lucky to have a team like you behind me, so hard-working and persevering despite everything thrown at us. This is my final match but also my final day as Captain and on this final day, I want us to go out there and win. Not for myself, not for wanting to leave on a win but for _us_ as a team because_ you_ have all earned it. So let's get out there and let those eagles hear us lions roar! Because even if we lose, we're going to lose fighting!"

The team cheered at this, offering cries of approval as they got up looking more energized to prepare to go out there. Scorpius went over to his girlfriend to wait, giving her an encouraging smile and a kiss. He actually found himself feeling somewhat saddened as he waited by her side, realizing that it would be the very last time he did so walking out onto the pitch. It was her last game but also their last game together, next year he wouldn't be walking onto the pitch with Molly by his side. It made him both saddened and determined as they headed out when their names were called, half the pitch cheering as they walked out there. They took their places while Molly went over to shake the scarred Sequoia's hand, both looking quite serious. They may be on decent terms but nonetheless, they were both looking to walk out of the pitch with a win.

The balls were released and the match began. Scorpius shot up into the sky to search for the Snitch, shocked to see Michael had already grabbed the Quaffle and hurtled towards the goals. He scored the first goal of the game while everyone was still scrambling to get into position, putting Gryffindor into the lead. A good start but there was more to a game then the start, Scorpius scanned the pitch but caught no glint of gold just the glare of the sun. It was perfect weather for a match, clear skies, no wind and bright sunshine - it was quite obvious the June summer was upon them - which should make it easier to spot the Snitch. However, Scorpius kept getting the sun in his eyes which made him miss the poorer weather, he could only hope Pentakel was having as much trouble. He heard an explosion of noise from the crowd and turned, spotting the Quaffle falling through their own hoop as Molly had been forced to dodge a Bludger that Rufus Rhett had clumsily fired at her in an attempt to hit the Chaser.

The cheering of Ravenclaw was drowned out by a chorus of booing, Rufus' entire face became red and he turned away ashamedly. Molly said something to him though that might have been encouraging as he nodded before returning to that match, the match that had carried on without them. Albus and Latimer looked extremely focused as they bounced the Quaffle between them like a ping pong ball before throwing a curve ball to Michael who was further away, the werewolf caught it and threw it in one smooth motion that sent it spiraling through the hoop furthest to what the Ravenclaw Keeper had been guarding in preparation for defending from the other two. Scorpius turned away, knowing he very much needed to focus on getting the Snitch. The Ravenclaw Chasers were by no means sloppy, Molly was just a blur although they did sneak one past her immediately after she fired one back as it was intercepted before Albus could grab it and throwing herself in the direction of the ring they threw for wasn't quite enough. Scorpius only saw the Snitch once and after he - and Pentakel - both dived for it, the trail of chaos following the Quaffle got in the way and by the time it had cleared, the golden ball was gone.

Beating was definitely their weak point, Rufus had been molded into a talented flier - even as evidence how he had no trouble keeping his balance on the broom despite only having one hand or none on it due to needing to hold the bat - however his beating skills were pretty abysmal as he lacked both strength and accuracy. Not that their other reserves had been any better, Roxy would need to find a better beating partner next year. Another one slipped by Molly as she was pelted by two Bludgers at once, she managed to avoid being knocked out of the sky but not to stop the Quaffle. Knowing that tactic worked, they managed to get through another but just after Michael and Latimer had equalized it. Bringing the score up to forty each, Scorpius _really_ needed to catch that Snitch. Roxy had moved over to protect Molly, helping with the Bludger problem which helped her save a few but Rufus' attempt to do the same backfired. He hit one Bludger at the Chaser who threw the Quaffle but the momentum of his swing caught the second and sent it hurtling back to Molly. Molly avoided it but the Quaffle still fell through, however the Ravenclaw wasn't so lucky. Scorpius cringed as the boy took it directly to his face, seeing the jaw unhinge with a sickening crack and his teeth were brutally smashed in. Tears were streaming from his eyes as he landed to go get medical attention, Rufus earning even more booing and Krum awarded a penalty for excessive violence.

The Snitch decided to show up annoyingly when the penalty was being taken, the only time they weren't allowed to score thus he and Pentakel were forced to watch it sail away. At least Molly blocked the goal very easily, the match resumed and Scorpius bolted for where the Snitch - as did Pentakel - to try see where it had gone but it was to no avail. It was a close match and was going to come down to who caught the Snitch, he caught Pentakel's eye and got the impression the Ravenclaw had realized the same. He flew higher, trying to keep the sun on his back as he scanned the pitch for the Snitch.

"I scored!" a familiar voice suddenly screamed excitedly over the cheering crowd, Scorpius turned to see Albus grinning from ear to ear with tears of joy in his eyes as he practically bounced up and down on his broom, "I scored! I scored! I scored a goal! I did it! Did you see that?! _I_ scored! _Me_!"

"Well done, Al, still a game to win though," Latimer pointed out, clapping the younger boy on the back and Albus wiped his eyes but was still smiling as they dove back into it.

And then Scorpius saw it, a glint all the way down skimming the grass just beneath him. He dropped out of the sky like a comet, hurtling so vertically he had to grip the broom especially tight to avoid simply falling off it. He sped towards the ground, the wind screaming in his ears and smacking him in the face as he dropped so quickly. He was getting closer though, seeing the glint forming into a golden sphere. He reached out his hand just as he became aware of a presence beside him, he snatched the Snitch before Pentakel could grasp it. It was so near to the ground he felt the blades of grass brush his fingers as his hand closed around it, he tried to veer his broom up but there wasn't enough space or time.

He failed spectacularly, crashing painfully onto the ground and colliding with Pentakel as they both bounced off the harsh earth. Scorpius landed on his back, feeling battered and breathing heavily, he could hear Pentakel also panting but couldn't see him in his current position. He smiled to himself though and raised his shaking hand, not caring about the bruises he was sure he had as he showed off the Snitch. He could hear cheering distantly but he didn't care about that though, he cared that he'd won it for his girlfriend, for the win Molly deserved after all the effort she'd put in and everything she'd been through. For Molly.

* * *

_Varanian proved to be the best candidate and was hired, unlike the other staff Calderon didn't try to befriend him for fear of being recognized and dreaded having to interact with him at all. He try to interact more with the students though and not just when he was trying to pass the still incredibly difficult apparation - he'd given up on love not apparation - especially Teddy Lupin, who was his cousin. Even if the metamorphmagi didn't know it. If he saw him, he'd often ask him how he was and make sure he was okay. Varanian made this easy to avoid him though, he chose to eat alone not at the table and didn't make any effort to interact with his peers himself. He often forgot to eat though, not bothering to come down and get the food the house-elves left for him. He did prove to be quite annoying for Minerva, he often did things without bothering to check or ask for permission because he felt it was right for his students so Calderon did still cross his path. It wasn't until Christmas that anything outside of work-related interaction happened though._

_"Tommy!" Varanian called as Calderon was walking down a corridor, he turned very instinctively and very stupidly as the scarred - although he tended to hide them - man approached him._

_"I'm sorry, I thought you said Marius," Calderon/Tommy lied lamely, the names didn't even sound remotely the same._

_"I know who you are, you can cut your hair and change your name but I remember your face, I remember you. Even remember your name which is quite an achievement for me," Varanian told him and Calderon scratched at the back of his head while channeling the magic pouring out of him into flickering orange lights at his nerves, "I can understand why you would want your past a secret, I won't tell anyone. I wouldn't even want to."_

_"Then what do you want?"_

_"T-To thank you," Varanian offered, shifting uncomfortably, "You know for everything you did."_

_"Oh well um... It was noth- You're welcome?" Calderon stammered out uncertainly, not sure how he was supposed to react. Varanian seemed content to just have gotten the thanks out and walked off._

_It made him feel bad for avoiding him the past few months, for assuming the worst. It spurred him to make an effort to get along with Varanian, starting by bringing his food up to him when he forgot and eating with him so he wouldn't be all alone. Pippy - he decided on Pippy as a nickname - was harder to get to know, he was serious in conversation and not particularly open or talkative. Although he did admit his reasons for wanting to teach at Hogwarts was just because that's where his children would be if they were alive, not because he had aspirations in education - he wanted to be an Auror but kept being rejected - which made Calderon feel kind of sad. It had been a long time since he thought about those poor children and the wife that his sister had killed... he wondered how Pippy would take that if he knew. Pippy did become increasingly interested in finding out the names of the people who had killed his family and tortured him, Calderon had no intention of telling him though. Master Rodolphus was dead and he had been the main one anyway, there was no point dredging up the past and telling him about Sal. Varanian kept pushing though and ultimately, Tommy/Calderon had some kind of breakdown from it. Varanian didn't ask about it again, apparently unwilling to cause him harm._

_Pippy was rejected for being an Auror again that year and returned for his final Alchemy year, their relationship was much less rocky that year despite him still driving Minerva up the wall but Calderon got on with him and felt comfortable with him as Pippy knew more about his past then anyone yet still accepted him. Not everything but still, he didn't want him to away. As luck would have it, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor got pregnant that year with her and husband's first child and wanted some time off to care for the baby anyway. Perfect opportunity to keep him on. It took a while to convince Pippy to want it, he wasn't used to staying in one career for too long but it might prove he knew something about defensive magic to help his Auror goal. It took even longer to convince Minerva to hire him for it considering his difficulty, he was a good teacher though and knew his stuff. It worked though and Pippy became the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, he didn't manage a week without pissing off Minerva but... oh well. Pippy may ignore rules and do his own thing but he was nonetheless a good teacher, even better then he'd done at Alchemy. Everyone wanted to retire though, Pippy had no desire to stay permanently and Minerva was thinking of retiring but for now they were at a stable junction and remained more or less for the next few years. Calderon continued living for his job, content except for the odd twinge of regret on his decision to remain alone and to not try to find Sal._

_"I'm retiring, Marius," Minerva announced to him at the end of the school year in 2015, sending him into shock._

_"What?! No! You can't, wh-"_

_"It's already done, Marius, the arrangements have been made," Minerva insisted, raising a hand to silence him and Calderon felt tears prick his eyes rather childishly. She'd given him his chance for the life he'd created after all, he'd be nothing without her. And now she was just going to go? "It's time for me to retire, I'm too old for this."_

_"But what will happen without you? Who will run Hogwarts? Hogwarts needs you," Marius whimpered pathetically, "You'll be bored."_

_"I want you to become the next Headmaster."_

_"Wh- Y- Me?!" Marius spluttered out in shock, respecting her too much to ask her if she was insane but nonetheless... Was she insane?_

_"Yes you, you're in the perfect position to be. You know more about running this school then anyone, you do most of it even, you do so much," Minerva explained seriously, swaying the thought she was possibly joking, "You care about this school and its students, you're smarter than you think you are and you're the only one holding yourself back. You're perfect for his, you'd be a great Headmaster."_

_"No," Tommy shot her down immediately, the thought of being a master sending sparks of terror down his spine, "Retire if you want but I'm an assistant and I'm staying an assistant."_

_"Please think about it," Minerva told him an unusually pleading tone, however his mind was made up and ultimately she was forced to go with her second choice as who she'd recommend as her replacement. And that was why Pippy was called to her office to speak to her, being told of her retirement just like he had._

_"You can't retire!" Pippy complained in annoyance, sounding much more irritable rather than pleading like Calderon had, "You're a good Headmistress, they'll just replace you with some bl-"_

_"They'll replace me with you," Minerva interjected, halting Pippy mid-sentence and his hair drained to blond in shock._

_"Me?"_

_"If you're interested. I figured I'd spare my replacement the trouble of dealing with you, you always want to be in charge so here is your shot," Minerva offered to the still stunned Pippy._

_"I'll uh- I'll think about it," Pippy admitted after a minute when his mind seemed to be getting a grasp of the situation. _

_He did ultimately go with it after being rejected again for being an Auror like he had been consistently since starting working at Hogwarts, much to Calderon's delight although he still would rather the staff just stay the same. Calderon would much rather be working for Pippy then being the master himself, Pippy had to eat at the staff table but Calderon was allowed as well so they still ate together. And worked together. A lot. Working for Pippy was probably a bit harder physically then working for Minerva, he wasn't cruel or unkind but Pippy worked hard constantly to the point of putting off eating or sleeping to get work done and as his assistant, Calderon was often kept at the same standards. Not that he minded, Calderon loved his work. And in his free time, he did visit Minerva and they often talked and played chess since he could play it now not be taught. It was a good two years and Calderon finally succeeded in getting his apparation license, only seventeen years after most people got it. Considering how long it took him to become literate and learn magic - even then, he still couldn't use a wand - after everyone else, he considered it pretty good. _

_Summer of 2017 was when Retsam Wodahs contacted Pippy about these Blood Runes, Calderon was busy with delivering letters to muggle-borns and explaining about Hogwarts in person so he didn't give it that much mind. On the way back from one was when he noticed the man, he was just ambling along admiring the muggle landscape - and looking for a deserted area to apparate - he didn't usually see and their tall buildings. Upon which was a man standing on a ledge, not by the ledge but on the ledge... And then he jumped. Calderon felt a mixture of pity and horror, he didn't even bother to check if muggles were around before raising his hand to save the man. His descent slowed gently and Calderon landed him safely on the ground, letting out a breath of relief while the man scrambled to his feet. The words Calderon had been going to say died on his lips as he took in the man's appearance, chestnut brown hair and extremely dark auburn hair... It was an Ashain. Brutus' younger brother, Atticus._

_"What did you go and do that for?!" Atticus burst out, looking and sounding upset. His eyes were red and puffy, tears still staining his face._

_"S-Saving you, you jumped off that building and nearly died," Calderon pointed out anxiously._

_"I didn't jump!" Atticus snapped irritably, wiping his eyes hastily, "I fell..."_

_"You fell off the building?" Calderon repeated dubiously at the incredibly obvious lie._

_"Yes," Atticus said slowly, seeming to realize this himself before turning on his heel, "So thank you and goodbye."_

_It wasn't goodbye though. He couldn't let Brutus' brother die. Not after all Brutus had done for him. He'd even said to make it up for him by protecting his brother, he had to protect his brother. Helping Atticus Ashain became his mission in life, he spent most of the time visiting him and talking to him and trying to snap him out of his suicidal tendencies. So much so that he was barely at Hogwarts and when he was he just did as instructed, paying little attention to these Blood Runes or why Pippy suddenly seemed colder and started behaving out of the ordinary. As luck would have it, they needed a new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. It would be perfect for Atticus, keep his mind off things while he waited for his wife to come around - surely she just needed more time to process it, some muggles did - and it would allow him to keep an eye on Atticus and make sure he was alright. They also needed a Transfiguration professor, he'd been so busy with Atticus and Pippy... he didn't know why Pippy hadn't but at any rate it ended up being extremely short notice and Minerva agreed to do it because she did get bored. 2017 would be a good year he was sure..._

* * *

Brutus sat in the nursery, not for his own as usual but rather in the Malfoy Manor. It was fancy, sky blue walls and antique furniture that looked out of place in a baby's room. He was just waiting for Narcissa Malfoy with the young Sol Abraxas Malfoy, sitting idly on the rocking chair with the baby on his lap and amusing him with some toy he seemed fond of. Sol seemed quite at ease, laughing happily and babbling incoherently at the stuffed peacock toy as he played with the different textures on its tail feathers.

His own sons had just turned one yesterday, Sol was six months older so it was almost like seeing a flash forward of what they'd be like in six months. He wondered if Sol would ever meet his sons - they'd be second cousins after all - and if they'd get along, would they be friends? It was good to have friends, he missed Rabastan. Or would Sol hate them for Sal's crimes against his family? Or would he simply not care? After all, he didn't seem to mind Brutus. He was actually quite proud of himself, he thought he'd it proved he had a better grasp of caring for babies so he probably was doing something right with his kids. As were the Malfoys it seemed as Sol was in good health, quite happy and bubbly. He hoped it would last the war.

"Who wants-" Narcissa started to say in a high-pitched tone meant for the baby as she entered the room, she froze on the spot however when she saw him, "Let him go!"

"Gramma!" Sol squealed excitedly and babbled something else, Brutus had to bite his tongue to stop himself applauding correct names like he would for the twins. He was being a bad guy here- He_ was_ a bad guy here, Narcissa wasn't going to do what he wanted if she thought he wasn't serious about his threats.

"No," Brutus stated coolly, hardening his expression. Not that it mattered, people who didn't know him seemed to have trouble deciphering his expression. He discretely waggled the toy to draw Sol's attention back to it though, it worked. Hooray for the attention spans of the young, "Not until you agree to do what you want."

"Put him down or I'll kill you," Narcissa told him in an icy and very serious tone, drawing her wand and aiming it at him. He rocked lazily, unconcerned.

"Good luck not hitting your grandson. Not that it matters, there's already a Specter inside him with instructions to destroy his soul should anything happen to me," Brutus lied and watched her face drain of all color.

It made him feel quite sick with himself. Both at the words he was saying and the fact she actually bought it, he knew that was the point but all the same. Was he really seen as such a monster that people thought he was capable of doing something so horrible to a _baby_? Apparently so but in reality, there wasn't even a Specter in the room let alone in Sol. Was that really the example he wanted to set to his sons? His father had always tried to be a good person, tried to instill values in his sons. Whatever flaws he may have, Brutus never doubted his father was a good man who always tried to do the right thing. And Brutus? He could hardly say the same of himself, people thought he was a monster... Because he was. And yet, what choice did he have? Sal had no intention of backing down, even if she did it was impossible. They'd be hunted for the rest of their lives. He knew the world would be better if Sal's plans succeeded, he just worried there wouldn't be enough of a world left. How was he supposed to do the right thing when he didn't even know what that was in his situation?

"I'm listening," Narcissa admitted, sounding as if it disgusted her to say such a thing as she lowered her wand and snapped him from his thoughts. Her next words were softer though, pleading while her eyes were filled with hate as they locked with his, "Don't hurt him."

"I know you're aware of your sister's children," Brutus stated and she nodded slightly reluctantly in agreement, he resisted the urge to sigh. He should be glad she was listening and would do what he wanted, yet... he wasn't, "You need to do something for us..."


	19. Chapter 19: End of An Era

_**Parts (76-77)**_

* * *

**V  
**

**Chapter 19  
**

End of An Era

* * *

**Part 1: **The Son of Voldemort

* * *

The jubilation of the victory lasted merely the weekend before they were flung back into studying, the Fourth Years had their final exams while the rest of them had just the week left before OWLs and NEWTs would be upon them. Well, it wasn't so much that they stopped being glad for the victory and that Gryffindors stopped being all smiles but they were just busy preparing. Every class was now for revision with every teacher offering aid in their spare time to anyone who wanted it, meal times became extra studying sessions and free time became exclusive for revision. Even Albus didn't complain about pouring over old notes and practicing old spells, although he did still glare at Pentakel who had kindly offered to aid his girlfriend - and by extension the rest of the Fifth Years - with studying since he was in between important exams. Even the flawless Maurice was studying, the Fourth Year was still set to take his OWLs with them and apparently had no desire to fail.

Scorpius was no exception, he wasn't stressed over them but he also didn't see the point in not giving them his all despite - or maybe because of - not having career plans in mind. He didn't let it interfere with his animagi training though, no matter how late he ended up staying or how excruciating it could be. He was making progress - the severe changes were evidence of that - so he wanted to practice as much as possible, especially considering he might not be able to as much or at all over the summer break. Although at least he wouldn't be in Egypt this time, he hoped he wouldn't have an Auror watching again because he did still really need to talk to Varanian about whatever it was he had to see him in person about. And hopefully that would cover what Roman had being there with Leila Akram, if she'd managed to pass on whatever information she had on the Scepter. That was next month's problem though, June was all about OWLs, and they didn't even have Quidditch practices to interfere now. Wednesday of that week was Calderon's fortieth birthday though, he'd been unable to acquire a gift due to the lack of Hogsmeade trips but he did intend to visit his cousin after classes and spend some time with him.

"And miss out on studying?! Are you mad?!" Rose exclaimed when Scorpius said as much at breakfast that morning, a book propped up on her goblet of apple juice. Same for Michael, Molly and Corin.

"It's his birthday!" Scorpius protested.

"He'll have plenty of birthdays, you only get one shot at taking OWLs."

"Unless you fail and have to retake them next year," Latimer offered casually, earning terrified looks from Michael and Rose who clearly had that fear, "What? I said _unless_ you fail, I didn't say you will. If I can pass them than anyone can."

"Anyone who isn't Dyslexic werewolf with a full moon in the middle of it," Michael muttered unhappily and rubbed his mismatched eyes, "I'm never going to pass this."

"You-"

"Albus, why is your Father here?" Maurice asked curiously, interrupting whatever Rose had started to say.

They turned in confusion in the direction Maurice was looking to see that sure enough, silence was falling and heads were swiveling as Harry Potter strode in. His famous emerald eyes were focused on the staff table as he walked the straight stretch up the hall, he had an entourage of Aurors in tow who flanked him as he walked. Scorpius recognized Rooke - who he still considered suspicious - and Rose's dad as those closest.

"Dad-"

Albus started to call his father but trailed off as Potter didn't even spare his son a glance, still focused straight ahead on Calderon who was sitting in the Headmaster's chair as he had been since taking on Acting Headmaster. Potter came to a halt in front of the staff table, silence had fallen completely by then and every eye in the Great Hall was on the Boy Who Lived. Scorpius supposed he should be glad that he didn't seem to be the target but he had a rather ominous feeling spreading through him instead, not a word was spoken.

"What's up?" Calderon broke the silence, cocking his head to one side curiously with a concerned expression.

"Are you Tom Riddle III?" Potter questioned in a calm yet commanding tone, "The son of Voldemort?"

If possible the silence only seemed to intensify at the shocking question, jaws dropped and eyes bulged out of their sockets all around but a sound didn't leave a single soul as eyes darted between the two men. Only the Aurors and Calderon himself wore impassive expressions on their faces, the only faces Scorpius cared about. He felt as if he'd had a bucket of cold water thrown over his face, then he just felt angry. Scorpius stood and spun to face the Aurors, Michael desperately tried to grab him and pull him back but he avoided it.

"Ar-Are you _insane_?!" Scorpius spluttered out furiously and Potter turned his head to him, his face still blank, "Are you actually insane?! You're after _Calderon_ now?! Calderon, who has done more to face the Shadow Master then anyone! Calderon, who's only saved-"

"Scorpius," Potter silenced him with his name, his tone not angry but firm.

Scorpius scowled waiting for the explanation, still angry at the vendetta against everyone he cared about but Potter didn't elaborate. Instead he turned back to Calderon and Scorpius diverted attention to him as well, his cousin was still sitting there with a blank expression and not a single fleck of light dancing around him. Poor guy was probably in shock at the slander, stupid bloody worthless Aurors who weren't seeing sense.

"Tell them!" Scorpius called out and Calderon spared him a glance much like Potter had, "Tell them, Calderon! Tell them it's not true!"

"Scorpius," Michael said in a small, pleading tone.

He reached out to grab Scorpius' arm and try pull him back to sit down but Scorpius was having none of it, he yanked his arm free and moved forwards. The Auror closest to him raised his arm to halt Scorpius though, preventing him from getting in closer. Calderon still said nothing. He didn't understand, why wasn't Calderon telling them?

"Tell them!" Scorpius repeated more desperately, "Calderon, tell them! Tell them it's not true! Tell them they're wrong! Tell them, Calderon! _Tell_ them!"

"No, I _am_ Voldemort's son," Calderon spoke finally and turned his head back to Potter with a harder expression, sitting up a little straighter as his face twisted into a sneer, "Surely, you didn't think I was going to keep my demented cruel father's name? No, I fashioned myself a new name, a new name I knew would be needed so I wouldn't have to live in fear."

Scorpius couldn't believe what he was hearing, this had to be some kind of nightmare. How could Calderon- how could his _cousin_ be the son of the Darkest Wizard of all time? He felt so betrayed, so hurt. He'd _trusted_ him and he'd been the bad guy all along, been responsible for taking his grandfather and his baby sister, been responsible for the worst experience of his life, been responsible for so much pain and death. Why? Would he do that? How did that even work? Did he want to save the world he was destroying to seem like a hero? Was he just utterly insane? How could he do that?! How could Scorpius have trusted him? All this time...

"Tom Riddle III, you're under arrest for being the Shadow Master," Potter stated, taking a step forward and withdrawing a small vial of neon green liquid in one hand and his wand in another, "Please step forward."

"Look, I admit Voldemort's son - and I prefer Tommy by the way - but I'm _not_ the Shadow Master," Cal- Riddle insisted in a serious tone, oddly he didn't look the slightest bit afraid or surprised, "The Shadow Master... Whoever they are, they are _not_ me and they are_ not_ Voldemort's son. I've done nothing but fight them, fight against them. I'm not my father, I don't want to destroy the world or hurt anyone."

"If you really don't want to hurt anyone then just come with us quietly, take this Power-Repressing potion and let us arrest you," Potter offered and C- Riddle looked on the verge of tears but his expression was resigned, "We can talk about this back at the Ministry."

"Oh come on," a different voice snapped and Scorpius' eyes drifted to Professor Ashain who had stood to speak, he'd actually forgotten they were in the crowded Great Hall and that there were other people there, "Calderon's not the Shadow Master, regardless of who his father is. He's fought them every step of the way, Hogwarts wouldn't be standing now without him."

"You know as well as I do that this has to happen."

"But-"

"Its okay, Ticcy," Calderon cut him off as he stood, giving the professor the weakest of smiles, "He's right. This has to happen, I always knew it would. I had a good run. Just sit down before they decide to arrest you too, you have kids to think about. It'll be alright."

Professor Ashain looked at him for a moment, for a minute Scorpius thought he wouldn't but finally he sat back down looking rather unhappy about it. Scorpius supposed he had a point, it was strange to think Calderon was the Shadow Master when he'd seen them in the same place at the same time and other times it couldn't possibly be him. Scorpius found he didn't care though, whatever the case Calderon had lied to him.

Cald- Riddle walked around the table, the eyes of the school still on him with mixtures of shock and loathing and hurt. No one else spoke out in his defense though aside from Professor Ashain, not even the staff who'd known him for years. He finally stopped in front of Potter, he was given the vial of potion and downed it readily. Straight up, letting his gaze linger on the enchanted sky ceiling as if he expected to never see it again. He then held out his wrists, there was a loud clink as Rooke conjured shackles to bind him. Calder- Riddle met Scorpius' eyes then.

"Scor, I-"

"Don't!" Scorpius snapped at him, feeling the tears building behind his eyes and hearing his voice cracking, "Don't say anything! Don't say anything to me ever again, I hate you!"

On that note, Scorpius turned and ran out of the Great Hall. Not caring that everyone was looking and could see him, he just ran. Not even bothering to pay attention to where he was going, he just let his legs run. He could feel his feet slapping against the stone, feel the tears running down his cheeks. Finally he burst out of a door and found he had nowhere else left to run, he'd come out on the outside wall of Hogwarts. He walked over to the battlements, putting out his hands to lean on them while his thoughts simmered inside his mind.

"Scorpius," a voice called and Scorpius spun to see Michael had followed him, "How are you doing?"

"My cousin is the freaking son of Voldemort and the Shadow Master! How do you think I'm doing?!" Scorpius screamed at him in frustration, still struggling to believe it.

"Not the Shadow Master," Michael insisted and Scorpius took note for the first time how calm his friend was, he may not have the personal connection but nonetheless...

"You knew, didn't you?! You knew!" Scorpius shot out at him and Michael shifted slightly uncomfortably.

"Yes, I knew," Michael admitted and Scorpius could only gape at his friend, "That's what Leila Akram had figured out, that Calderon had to be Voldemort's son or the Scepter would've have reacted to the Shadow Master as well when Polyjuiced into him."

"Then why would the Shadow Master say they were Volde-" Scorpius started to say but stopped at it hit him, pieces slotting into place, "He's Calderon's brother, they're_ both_ Voldemort's sons, both Slytherin's heirs, both Herpo's descendants. That's why they can both speak Parseltongue. He wasn't protecting his friend all this time by staying silent, he was protecting his brother."

"Pretty much."

"Not just his brother, his twin," Scorpius continued and Michael tilted his head curiously, "Think about it, Calderon was born and grew up in Azkaban which is why he figured out about Shadows, why he never got to go to Hogwarts and had to be taught, might even contribute to the instability with magic. I'll bet the Shadow Master was in the same situation, for that they'd have to be twins. They just took very different paths."

"Makes sense," Michael mused and Scorpius leaned back against the battlements as he wiped his face, horrified to realize that also meant the Shadow Master was his cousin.

"I still can't even believe this," Scorpius said truthfully, his head still trying to get around it all, "Why wouldn't he just tell me? If he's not the Shadow Master, would couldn't Calderon just tell me?"

"Maybe because he was afraid when you found out that you'd hate him and run off... like you did."

"It's a big deal! We _know_ the Shadow Master is Voldemort's son, _Voldemort_!"

"I get it, Voldemort is like wizard Hitler but still. So what?" Michael stated neutrally, "People can't pick their parents and Calderon is a good person regardless of who he is are, I don't hold it against the Little Ones that Bob is their father and I don't hold it against Calderon."

"You know forget Calderon, why didn't _you_ tell me?!" Scorpius demanded, changing his tone.

"It didn't feel like my place to," Michael pointed out with a shrug, "At the very least I wanted to wait until the summer so you'd have a chance to cool down."

"Roman knows this too, doesn't he? That's probably what Varanian wanted to tell me as well."

"Yes. Roman and Leila had a history, that's why he was helping."

"A hist- What else don't I know!?" Scorpius complained in exasperation, throwing up his arms.

"Roman and Leila dated in the past, they were engaged and she got pregnant but then his becoming a Shadow pawn happened and he left her. Seeing her triggered his memory of her, that's why he was helping her. Her son is his son, Cyrus. She was separated from him when escaping Athens," Michael explained concisely, "She studied the Scepter and knew about it, she deduced Calderon - she was trying to find out his name, that's why she went to you before - had to be Voldemort's son and thought he'd be able to get the Scepter off the Shadow Master and beat him since the Shadow Master uses Polyjuice whereas Calderon is true to who he is. She thought the Shadow Master had to fall to have a chance at getting back into Athens to save her son, who hopefully isn't dead already."

"And you didn't think to tell me this?!"

"Like I said, I was going to speak up at summer. I'd hoped to talk it out with Orous since we'd helped them get into Hogwarts to talk to Calderon, Orous doesn't remember though."

"Well great," Scorpius spat sarcastically, angry at his friend keeping things from him before something else occurred to him, "And now what? Calderon's been arrested and they're not letting him out anytime soon."

"I don't know," Michael admitted worriedly, "But I figure the Shadow Master's behind it, he realized Calderon was a threat and was willing to fight him so he got his brother incapacitated for the time being."

"Even when we win, we lose," Scorpius muttered bitterly and rubbed his eyes.

* * *

**Part 2: **Last Days of Summer

* * *

The revelation and Calderon's arrest continued to leave Scorpius shaken and in a state of shock, from glancing at the headlines of the newspapers Maurice read in the morning he saw it was all over it. As expected, Calderon was being held indefinitely as far as he knew. He didn't know how to feel still, he was still hurt and angry at his cousin but he didn't hate him nor did he want him to rot in jail. There wasn't really anything he could do about it though, not until he got the chance to speak to Varanian at least. It was a particularly bad time for it all to have happened considering he was supposed to be preparing for his OWLs, he was again reminded of how stupid it felt to focus on tests when bigger things were happening in the world. He struggled to focus and lost interest in studying, he figured if he didn't remember enough to get a passing grade then he didn't deserve to be on the NEWT course anyway. At least his friends seemed focused on that not talking about Calderon although he was sure they did amongst themselves, Scorpius was glad they gave him space.

On Monday morning Professor Koray - no one was 'Acting Headmaster' now but Professor Koray was Deputy Headmaster and seemed to be dealing with the running of the school right then - introduced them to the Examiners. One was a squat woman with large glasses and curled gray hair, one was a very tall but very thin bald man despite the stooped way he stood and the final was a younger curvaceous woman with blond hair but a flat face as if she'd ran into a wall. Scorpius zoned out slightly as he read through his mail, his parents had sent him a letter of encouragement for his owls along with a bag of chocolate fudge that he shared amongst his friends minus Michael who had gone to the bathroom. They were kicked out after lessons would start for the rest of the school left for classes except some NEWT students taking an exam at the same time, Scorpius stood trying to recycle information in his mind for the exam he was about to undertake, Potions was first with the written in the morning and the practical would be after lunch. Michael only returned to them then, his skin looking quite waxy and sickly while his eyes were sunken in dark circles on an otherwise ghastly white complexion. He looked a wreck.

"You okay?" Scorpius asked of him, somewhere between worry and suspicion.

"Well I just lost my breakfast, didn't sleep all night and I'm going to fail Potions but otherwise I'm okay," Michael pointed out anxiously and quickly, his voice cracking like he was trying not to cry, "Good thing I hadn't taken my Wolfsbane."

"It'll be fine," Scorpius offered gently, patting his friend on the shoulder and realizing Michael was shaking, "You've had extra sessions with Professor Vipera, you can do this."

"Alright, you can come in now," Professor Longbottom announced and they started to file in, the professor held out his arm to stop Michael though, "And don't worry, Cald- It was arranged that you could have some extra time on the written exams due to your Dyslexia, you'll also have extra time on top of that for all exams Tuesday through Friday of this week because of the full moon. Alright?"

Michael nodded mutely, still looking horrendous as he went in to sit down. Parchment, quills and ink were handed out to everyone and then they were told to begin. Scorpius found the exam was more difficult then he'd thought, he also wasted a good chunk of time on a question on Polyjuice worrying whether answering it accurately would make him look guilty or not before ultimately deciding to just go for it. He did manage to answer all the questions though, even if he was worried some of his answered weren't detailed enough or that he'd struggled to remember and was unsure. He was glad when it was over though and Michael was left to have his extra time, Scorpius hoped that might make his friend feel somewhat better. His friends seemed in quite poor spirits though.

"I found that tough, really tough," Albus admitted at lunch, a lunch Michael skipped because he was afraid of not keeping his Wolfsbane down if he added anything else to his stomach, "And if Potions is my favorite subject, it doesn't bode well for the rest of them."

"What was difficult about it?" Maurice asked, sounding genuinely surprised while they sighed. Of course Maurice would feel that way.

Scorpius did find the practical easier, they were taken in groups into a room and had to make two potions. One of which was quite simple and one was more complex, they had flat-faced woman going around observing them. Michael and Maurice were both actually in his group, he kept trying to keep an eye on his friends but at the same time worried it would be construed as cheating when really he just wanted to see how they were doing. They all seemed to be tasked with making different potions anyway so he supposed it didn't matter. He started with the complex one first, wanting to get the more difficult one out of the way and not thinking it wise to try juggle two at once. It was actually something they'd made quite recently so it was easier to remember what to do despite having quite a lot of steps, however he did find the specific amounts harder to remember and almost got in trouble when he added too many Doxy eggs and the whole thing started to hiss angrily. He then had to spend a good chunk of time correcting his mistake, trying to balance it out. Ultimately, he thought he succeeded but he knew the texture should be smoother than it was. He then moved on to the simpler one, he had to rush it a bit but he still thought it came out alright. In contrast his friends seemed better, Michael seemed to have forgotten his nerves and was just focusing on what he was doing while Maurice seemed to have already finished and was brewing something else with the spare ingredients. Somehow, Scorpius thought Maurice's would be flawless.

They spent the night cramming for Herbology - Abby even convinced her father to let them practice some practical in the greenhouses - the next day or Arithmancy and Divination in Molly's case, the former only having a written and the latter only having a practical much to Molly's chagrin as she'd rather be able to focus on studying for one. When he woke up, Michael was still studying and threw up before even taking a bite of breakfast. They had essentially the same set-up for the written as the previous day, except Molly was there for her NEWT Arithmancy and he gave her a kiss before heading in. Scorpius found the written exam much easier, he wasn't sure whether it was because he just liked the subject better but nonetheless there seemed to be easier questions and he only struggled on more obscure plants. The practical was again better - maybe it was just because he preferred practical work - where he had the bald man, they were gain taken in groups and had to care for several plants. Juggling them proved to be the most difficult part, he almost knocked his Puffapod over trying to get back to the hungry Venomous Tentacula but he still managed to collect its beans successfully and avoid being bitten by the Fanged Geranium. Unlike Knight who walked out nursing his hand, Abby was the only one of his friends in the same group as him and he heard the examiner praising her on the way out.

Michael seemed even worse the next day but Scorpius knew the full moon factored into it, at least was Care of Magical Creatures that day which Michael was good at. Latimer was also quite unhappy to have his first exam of Astronomy, nonetheless Scorpius would be quite glad to be a quarter way through already. The written exam proved to be quite easy, he enjoyed the class and realized he had picked up a decent amount of knowledge from it as he was able to give quite detailed answers. The only difficult ones were the ones when drawing something was necessary, his artistic skills weren't the best - well they weren't the worst either - so he made sure to write lots of notes to explain things he thought weren't shown quite right. The practical was much better, he managed to bathe his Fire Crab without getting burns and the creature seemed quite content with its bath, he successfully groomed a Hippogriff and thoroughly enjoyed getting to feed a Thestral.

"You have quite a knack for this," the male examiner commented in quite a low tone of voice with a slight smile, jolting Scorpius from the creature he'd been petting and praising. It nuzzled his hand when he stopped, "Most people fear them."

"I like Thestrals," Scorpius shrugged it off as he continued petting it, hoping it was a good sign.

The next day was just a Divination practical in the afternoon for him but Abby, Michael and Maurice had Arithmancy that morning while Molly and Latimer would have Potions all day. Rose and Albus had the day off, the former of which had her nose buried in books for tomorrow while Albus decided to take a nap. Michael was dead on his feet from the full moon, he slept all through lunch but it was the first day all exams he hadn't thrown up from nerves which Scorpius hoped was a good sign. They had the squat woman for the practical, Scorpius had to predict the future in a variety of ways. He was quite confident in his Tarot Cards and Tea Leaves, the examiner seemed quite impressed when he predicted she would get a new member of the family soon - apparently her daughter was pregnant - but was less confident in Fire Omens although he heard no complaint and saw nothing but ashes in his Crystal Ball. He was also asked some questions about Divination in general as an oral exam, having a talented Seer for a girlfriend paid off and the squat woman smiled kindly and nodded at his answers which he took to be a good sign. Finally it was Friday, Molly had Herbology while OWL students had Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Michael looked ready to pass out at breakfast, he wasn't sure what was better if Michael was anxious or exhausted. The written exam was quite long, needing to cover Dark Creatures and spells alike. Scorpius found it to be quite easy though, he wasn't as certain about some creatures but he had a lot to say for werewolves and was incredibly knowledgeable of spells thanks to Professor Ashain and Varanian. There wasn't a single question in the latter half he wasn't able to give a long answer with certainty, he was very much looking forward to the practical. They were called alphabetically by the man again and was able to cast every single spell asked of him, he also showed off his non-verbal skills, ability to conjure a Patronus and some of the advanced spells Varanian had taught him. He walked out with a thumbs up and an impressed looking examiner, he thought he'd definitely managed a good grade there.

They had a weekend to study after that, it gave Michael a chance to recuperate somewhat as well and before they knew it Scorpius was back in for Charms first thing on Monday morning. He found the exam quite a breeze too, it was much like the second half of the Defense Against the Dark Arts exam except focus on Charms. While he wasn't as knowledgeable, he nonetheless didn't find himself stuck on any questions. They were called alphabetically for the practical again in the afternoon, he had the squat woman again and succeeded at the variety of spells asked of him. He may not like Charms as much but nonetheless, his spell work was good all around. He hoped Michael would do well there, maybe get a chance to show off the healing magic he could do. That was Charms... right?

The day after that was Study of Ancient Runes, Care of Magical Creatures for Molly and Latimer while Abby and Albus got the day off. Scorpius found the written more a mixed back, he wasn't as confident in some areas - mostly things he'd missed in his suspension - but others were easier, in particular he had plenty to write in answer to a question about uses of runes in magic due to the Blood Runes. He had the flat faced woman for the practical where he had to vocally translate and answer some questions, he also was given an actual slab of ancient text to translate for her and explain for her. He thought he did well but it was hard to tell, the woman had been impassive the entire time.

The next day was Transfiguration for the OWLs and Charms for the NEWTs which was Molly's final exam, it was the only exam Scorpius was confident in while his friends - except Maurice - were extremely anxious due to Midas' poor teaching and the lack of actual teacher for several weeks so he ended up mostly helping them. The written went well, he had a good knowledge of the spells and a good grasp of the subject, in particular he was quite proud his animagi training came him a boatload to say on the subject. He noticed he seemed to be writing a lot more than those closest to him, he made a mental note to thank Wyatt the next time he saw him. For the practical he again had the flat faced woman, he was able to transfigure everything asked of him and to quite a high standard if the detail on the pocket-watch he transfigured his mouse into was anything to go by. He vanished several different objects perfectly and even showed off conjuring, the woman gave him a slight nod of approval which was the most emotion he'd seen from her. Nonetheless, he was pleased.

The next day only Abby, Albus and Rose had an exam as it was Muggle Studies which was a subject the rest of them hadn't taken, whatever NEWT subject was being taken also wasn't something Molly and Latimer had so they had the day off as well. Since Molly had officially finished her NEWTs - although Latimer still had Runes the next day - she offered to help Scorpius study for tomorrow, however it ended up as an extremely pleasant snogging session instead in the Room That Doesn't Exist. Scorpius was not complaining. Finally it was Friday, they had History of Magic first thing but it was just the written. It wasn't his favorite or most knowledgeable subject, however he still managed to answer all the questions even if some were more loosely or semi-guesses. He felt bored just taking the exam.

After lunch was another written as the Astronomy practical took place at night, Scorpius rushed through it quickly in his eagerness to be done with OWLs but found he had a lot of time left. He was forced to go back and try flesh out his answers a bit more, it wasn't Astronomy's fault it was last and deserved just as much care and attention as the rest of his exams. The practical was again better, he had to fill in the star chart under the watchful eye of the squat woman - who chuckled in amusement that he shared a name with the stars - but it wasn't something he could rush so he thought he did better. He was feeling very pleased with himself as he trudged along to bed with the others, however it was only as Scorpius lay down that he realized he had nothing to focus on now to distract him from his cousin's secret and imprisonment. He slept worse than he had all week while Michael slept for what he thought was the first time all week.

All that was left for the final week of June was to relax yet Scorpius found himself incapable, doubts and worries filling his mind. From wondering what was going to happen with Calderon, wondering what was happening with the war, wondering what Varanian was planning, wondering what the Ministry was planning and Molly. With each passing day ticking by, it was one day closer to Molly leaving Hogwarts permanently. And possibly him too. The thought of losing her made him feel sick, physically sick. He'd meant what he said to Leebin, of all the uncertainty in the future, Molly was his one thing that he was certain wanted. And so he found himself incapable of enjoying the sunshine with his friends, he sure as hell wasn't going to dip his feet in the Black Lake either. He mostly made excuses to avoid his friends, hanging out with the Ashain kids or reading or oversleeping. It didn't help he felt like Molly was avoiding him too, his friends made more of an effort to spend time with him then she did.

The final day finally came, there was no winner of the house tournament on account of the deaths and they were all just praised as victors. He'd packed his things the day before, Michael however ended up helping Albus and Scorpius wondered around the castle aimlessly. He was eager to get home and speak to Varanian - if possible - to find out what was happening, what was next yet dread was the thing that weighed his spirits down. He was expecting Molly to break up with him any second now she would be a Hogwarts graduate and all. He found himself at the top of one of the towers, the same one he'd wandered to in his first year and found Professor Ashain. Apparently, his feet subconsciously liked this spot. He zipped up his leather jacket to shield himself even more from the wind, shoving his scarred hands into his pockets and gazing out at the magnificent landscape stretching out before him. It was much nicer when an army wasn't making its way towards them.

"Hey," a voice offered and he spun to see Molly, her crimson curls blowing in the breeze and her beautiful eyes the same shade of blue as the sky above, "Lovely view, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Scorpius muttered as she walked over to him, staring off at the world around them. He felt tears pricking his eyes and his heart crumbling in panic at what was the inevitable break up, she'd want a new guy now. A man, not a teenager still in Hogwarts, not someone scarred who she had to worry about triggering, "This is it, isn't it?"

"This is what?" Molly asked, glancing at him with the eyes he loved so much.

"Where you break up with me."

"I-"

"Before you do just listen," Scorpius cut her off shakily as he took her hands in his, "I know I'm not perfect, I know I'm damaged and I know I'm not good with feelings but-but I _know_ how I feel about you. I've liked you since the first time I laid eyes on you, you were so beautiful to me even before I got to know and see what a wonderful person you are. You make me smile when I don't feel like smiling and you make me laugh when I feel like there's nothing to laugh about, every time I kiss you my heart skips a beat because I still can't believe how lucky I am to have you in my life as my girlfriend. There's so much darkness in the world but you're always something bright."

"Scor-"

"Just listen!" Scorpius insisted, determined to finish what he was going to say and Molly fell silent while her eyes locked with his, "I love you, Molly. I know we're young but I mean it, I wouldn't say it if I didn't truly mean it with all my heart. No one could possibly ever love you as much as I love you and I just... I just wanted you to know that before... before..."

"You know it's funny," Molly spoke up quietly, "I dreamed of this moment before, not in a wistful sense but as in something I foresaw. Before we were together, before I even started thinking about you in this way, when I was still with Nick when he was still alive... But I saw this moment, heard you say the very words you just said. And I knew I couldn't be with Nick anymore."

"Because of what I said?"

"Because of how I felt, in the dream."

"How did you feel?" Scorpius breathed, allowing a bubble of hope to form in his heart.

"Happy because I loved you too," Molly told him and squeezed his hands gently.

Scorpius felt the smile slowly forming on his face as the edges of her lips curled the same, he pressed his lips against hers and she kissed him back passionately. He felt her embrace as he encircled his arms around her, relief and joy flooding through him as he lost himself in the kiss and the scent of cherries. Tomorrow the war would continue but in that moment, he was happy and not even the war could take that from him.

* * *

Pyrrhus Florian sat in the hotel room he was currently using, a quaint room with a floral pattern on the bed and cheap, slant furniture. His son Oathan was sitting on the bed, working away at putting together a simple puzzle. Pyrrhus had been working on improving both his magical skills and skills in general, teaching him what he knew. He'd also acquired a knife that he had Oathan wear on his belt along with his wand, he was teaching him to levitate it so he could stab - and kill - attackers. They weren't the only ones in the room though, one of his many nephews stood before him. Carver, the muscular teen with shaven brown hair and his father's square jaw. The father that Pyrrhus had killed, he still felt somewhat guilty about that but nonetheless it needed to be done.

"I don't know what to do now," Carver admitted with a sigh, "There's a warrant out for my arrest because I'm suspected of being a Soul Eater, I can't go to them and try to explain because the Soul Eaters would kill me. Mum and Step-Dad flat out turned their backs on me, I don't know why it surprises me. James is still with Soul Eaters, they want me to join them but I don't want to join them. I don't want to be a Soul Eater, and I don't want James to be either. I don't know what to do."

"They won't hurt James, he's Harry Potter's son," Pyrrhus pointed out with a shrug, paying more attention to watching his little boy solve the puzzle, "Sure, the Shadow Master will kill him eventually but for now they're going to milk his usefulness. He's a decent duelist and from what I heard before I left, is pretty good at torture."

"That's exactly what I'm afraid of," Carver insisted, "They're influencing him to be bad!"

"If he beats up little kids, maybe he's already bad," Pyrrhus offered and Carver looked outraged.

"No! James is a good person, he's just... pretty messed up," Carver protested defensively and shifted uncomfortably, "He's not thinking straight is all and they're not helping, he's a good heart. He was good to me, he was kind to me when no one else was. That's not the mark of an evil person."

"All kids turn evil at some point."

"No, Pyrrhus, no they don't," Carver said with a shake of his head, "I know you _think_ that but not everyone in the world is evil or is going to turn evil, I'm not here to debate the point but that is fact."

"Then why are you here?" Pyrrhus questioned of him curiously, "Everyone in the world wants to kill me, not that I'm trying to be a bad uncle here but coming out in the open to speak to you is kind of bad for Oathan's health."

"I heard about what you did," Carver admitted, the expression in his eyes darkening, "How you killed my Father and the other staff in the Training Tower, got rejected by Potter when you tried to make a deal."

"I figured as much."

"I wondered what the hell your plan is now? Are you going to try join up with Varanian's group, Gray?"

"Nah, Varanian is not an easy man to find unfortunately," Pyrrhus brushed it off, he had tried for a while but the guy was a ghost. Besides, if the Soul Eaters - who had better trackers then he was - couldn't find him then he wasn't going to. Carver looked disappointed.

"So your plan is to just hide forever?"

"No, my plan is to get rid of the people trying to murder me so my son can have a life," Pyrrhus pointed out with a gesture to Oathan and Carver raised an eyebrow as he sat slowly back down in his chair.

"I thought he was my brother?"

"Nope. Cousin. Xerxes and Alzay had some conspiracy going on to keep him me," Pyrrhus informed him, spitting out the words bitterly and folding his arms, "That's why he had to die."

"I... I wish I was surprised," Carver said, sounding disappointed with himself, "So how does this impossible plan work? The Shadow Master would crush you... Like a moth."

"You're right," Pyrrhus confirmed with a smile, "Absolutely, I can't stand against the Shadow Master. But her brother can."

"That didn't go so well the last time they fought."

"That's because she has the Scepter and five people attached to her that she can take magic from, get rid of the connections and the Scepter _then_ Calderon can crush her."

"I understand - but don't agree with - killing the five to get rid of the connection," Carver admitted carefully although Pyrrhus was hoping to find another way to sever it, at least for Maurice as he didn't want his charge to die. He was distracted by Oathan finishing his puzzle, "But-"

"Well done!" Pyrrhus burst out enthusiastically with a large grin, applauding and feeling rewarded as a meek smile slipped onto Oathan's face, "You're so clever, Oathan!"

"Is that really necessary? It's a puzzle," Carver pointed out dryly and Pyrrhus shot him an irritated glance.

"Yes, it's necessary. They destroyed his self-esteem and self-confidence, I need to bring it back up so he needs to be praised when he succeeds at anything. Even a puzzle. It's harder to build someone back up then it is to break them."

"Well try focus, you were explaining your plan and I was pointing out Calderon's a high-security prisoner and you have no way of getting the Scepter off her."

"Think again," Pyrrhus smirked and withdrew a newspaper article about the Hogwarts attack, tossing it to Carver, "Notice it shows a picture of some of the students and staff in the corner? Antonius Ashain is standing by his Father."

"Yes, I know what Antonius Ashain looks like," Carver stated impatiently as he glanced back up, "What about him?"

"You can see him trying to hide the wand he's holding."

"I know, I told you I'd seen him with a wand."

"You haven't seen a picture of Herpo's Scepter, have you?" Pyrrhus complained, annoyed his discovery was lost on his nephew.

"Why would I have seen-"

"Well I have," Pyrrhus cut him off and Carver scowled in confusion, "That wand he's holding is the handle of the Scepter, the piece Ashylos took, the piece that was supposedly destroyed with the Ashain Mansion."

"You think Antonius took the wand for himself?"

"I think the wand _chose_ Antonius for itself," Pyrrhus corrected, "Why else would the little nine-year old be allowed to keep such a thing? Atticus Ashain did not buy a spare wand to give to his son."

"I still don't understand wh-"

"You're so impatient! I'm getting to it!" Pyrrhus snapped irritably and Carver sighed, rolling his eyes and leaning lazily back, "I've been doing a lot of research on wand and scepter lore, the Scepter respects the Shadow Master because she is its true master's descendant and the same for Calderon. But there's something that would trump that and that is who it _chose_, if it chose Antonius then it should come to him if he summons it. Even though only one part chose him and the Shadow Master repaired it as best she could, scepters are linked so it still should go to him."

"Fine but even if it chose him, he's a little kid and she's an extremely powerful witch," Carver pointed out dismissively, "He's not going to be able to stand against her, he'd be crushed while you're still waiting for the Scepter. Assuming you could even get him to do that in the first place."

"I've thought about that and that's why I want to find One."

"One? The Specter that joined Sanford's muggle father or something like that?" Carver wondered and Pyrrhus nodded.

"The very same. They're capable of tearing the magic out of souls, or else the muggle would still be a muggle. If we can get their help, we can take magic from other people's souls and add them to Antonius to make him stronger."

"Won't that kill him?"

"Of course but not immediately, there should be enough time for him to get the Scepter," Pyrrhus explained and Carver looked uncertain, "I know he's a child but really, what is one life to stop the Shadow Master destroying the world? I don't know if you've read the paper lately but Turkey's toast. He has a broken soul anyway, what life is that? If he's a good person then he'll be willing and if he's not then he deserves to die, might as well be doing something good."

"Say that's okay, then what? You've killed the five and got the Scepter."

"We either hide the Scepter or destroy it, it doesn't matter as long as she doesn't have it. Then we save Calderon and pit him against his sister, whether he kills or they kill themselves it doesn't really matter. Either way, she'll be gone and goodbye Soul Eaters," Pyrrhus continued cheerfully, "And then we go to Minister, over Potter's head and see if that's enough for immunity so we can live in peace. If not we move to figuring out how to destroy the government so_ they_ can't get us."

"So many peoples want to get us," Oathan sighed heavily and Pyrrhus patted him on the shoulder.

"That because everyone in the world is bad but us," Pyrrhus told him gently and Oathan nodded in understanding, Carver however looked oddly disapproving but he didn't care. It wasn't his fault that Carver clung to the delusion that other people were capable of being good, he'd realize the truth eventually, "So I think you should go to the Soul Eaters, that way you can spy for me and keep an eye on your friend if you want to have any chance of deracinating him."

"Wait, I didn't say I was going to _help_ you," Carver protested as Pyrrhus stood to go get some dinner for them, Pyrrhus gave his nephew a warm smile.

"Like you said, Carve, you have nowhere else to go. Unless you have a better plan?"

"I... No," Carver admitted with an unhappy sigh of his own, rubbing his tired eyes and looking quite defeated, "No I don't."

"What's what I thought," Pyrrhus nodded before grinning, "So who wants pizza?"


	20. VI: Note

**_UPDATE!_**

* * *

**_Author's Note:_**

_This has been __Book V in this series _**Gray: Scorpius Malfoy and the Son of Voldemort**, _if you intend to keep reading:  
_ __  
___Book VI in this series _**Gray: Scorpius Malfoy and the Crux of the Alchemist**_ has been uploaded and completed  
__Book VII in this series_ **Gray: ****Scorpius Malfoy and the Legion of the Dead **_is in progress_

* * *

**_Book VI Preview:_**

**_TURKEY FALLS TO SHADOWS_**

Head Auror Harry Potter – The Boy Who Lived – threw down the paper in disgust, he ran his hands through his jet black hair that was now snaked with gray but it was so untidy to begin with that disrupting it made no difference. He sighed heavily, letting his scarred forehead drop into his hands as the weight of the news seemed to drag it down. In less than a year the Shadows had taken complete control over not one but _two_ countries, not just the wizarding part either but the muggle one as well. It was a feat not even Voldemort had managed, something that made him almost miss the Dark Lord.


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